INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana woman convicted of murder two decades ago and who once escaped from prison, is now trying to be released and restart her life.
On Friday, a Marion County judge heard a petition to modify Sarah Pender's 110-year consecutive sentence.
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Sarah Pender asked the judge for mercy. She said she deserved to be punished for her role in the 2000 murders of her roommates, but said after 25 years in prison and five years in solitary confinement, she feels she's paid the price.
"I am asking for a chance to be free and not die in prison," said Pender.
In 2002, Sarah Pender was convicted of the murders of Andrew Cataldi and Tricia Nordman. Investigators said the victims were shot and their bodies were tossed in a dumpster.
Police used tattoos and neighbors to identify the victims. FBI fingerprints showed they were both fugitives.
The prosecution said Pender was the mastermind, although her ex-boyfriend Richard Hull claims he pulled the trigger and acted alone.
"I bought the gun. I didn't run away and report the crime, and I helped Rick afterwards. I deserved to go to jail. However, shocked and devastated does not come close to how I felt when I was found guilty of Drew and Trish's murders," said Pender.
Pender was sentenced to 45 years for each death.
"I thought the judge would give me 45 years. 110 years was unfathomable," she said.
In 2008, she escaped from the Rockville Correctional Facility in Indiana.
Police said she developed an intimate relationship with a correctional officer who helped her get away.
Four months later, she was captured in Chicago.
"I felt justice walking down the streets of Chicago," she said. "I paid a horrible price for it. I spent five years in solitary confinement. I paid for it 10 times over."
Former Marion County Prosecutor Larry Sells called Pender the female Charles Manson for her manipulation. Now, he believes she played a more limited role and wants Pender to be free. He calls her sentence a major injustice.
"I've never seen the former prosecutor, the person who put that person to prison, who advocated for the highest possible sentence, actually come out saying I was wrong, saying this person should be granted relief. It is virtually unprecedented," said Mark Howard, professor at Georgetown University and co-counsel for Pender.
The 46-year-old was 21 at the time of the murders. Her attorney said age was a mitigating factor for the crime and for her possible release.
"She's a completely different person," he said.
If a modified sentence is granted, her mother Bonnie and father Roland said they have a plan and the finances to help their daughter move to Arizona.
"I dream that she'll be able to just have a chance at life and freedom," said Bonnie Prosser. "We have a 3-bedroom home, and it's got a screened-in back porch, fenced-in yard, crazy cats, and two loving old women. You can't ask for more than that."
Relatives of both victims opposed the sentence modification.
Pender said she doesn't expect forgiveness and apologized.
"I am so sorry for the terrible loss that you suffered and for the role I played in it," she said.
Pender's family called Friday the most positive day in 25 years.
"So much love and support," said Prosser.
The judge did not make a decision on Friday. He is holding the petition under advisement. He has thirty days to make a decision.
Pender's father is hopeful a decision will be made by Christmas.
"I feel quite uplifted by it. Yet, there's the uncertainty of what comes next," said Pender. "Hopefully we'll have a ruling that Sarah can be released, maybe by Christmas. That's a big hope. But, why not? If you don't have those hopes and wishes, then they tend to not come true."
