LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan man who told police he killed his 5-year-old stepdaughter and set fire to the family’s apartment after she interrupted his nap has been convicted of first-degree murder.
Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Joyce Draganuchuk on Friday also found 25-year-old Thomas McClellan of Holt guilty of first-degree child abuse and first-degree arson. He’s scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 23 to life in prison without parole.
Defense lawyer Patrick Crowley argued that a second-degree conviction would be more appropriate.
Authorities say McClellan told officers he stabbed Luna Younger on Nov. 1 and then set fire to the Lansing-area apartment to destroy evidence of the killing. During a taped confession played during the trial, McClellan said he killed the girl because she interrupted his nap and asked for something to eat.