SALT LAKE CITY — A woman accused of fatally shooting her teenage daughter before turning the gun on herself is now scheduled to be sentenced on August 28.
Mary Ethyl Hansen pleaded guilty to murdering her daughter in January, claiming the March 2012 shootings were part of a suicide pact she had with her daughter, 18-year-old Virginia Ray Hansen.
“The mother went ahead and shot the daughter and came out, got into her car, drove down the street, honked her horn and, once the neighbor came outside, announced that she had shot her daughter and herself and then drove back down the street and parked in the driveway again,” said Drew Sanders, West Jordan Police Department.
Mary Hansen was then taken to Intermountain Medical Center for treatment.
Neighbors told FOX 13 News the Hansens had been struggling with anxiety, financial woes and health problems.
Mary was committed to the Utah State Hospital after attempting suicide at the Salt Lake County Metro Jail in November.
Hansen had originally been charged with first-degree murder, but agreed to a plea deal in January. She pleaded guilty, but mentally ill, to charges of manslaughter and discharge of a firearm.
Each charge carries a maximum penalty of up to 15 years in prison.
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