Appeals court upholds Sidoff murder conviction
MADISON—The state District 4 Court of Appeals today upheld a Green County woman’s murder conviction.
Mary Sidoff, 27, is serving a life sentence in prison for shooting Ardelle Sturzenegger, 88, of Janesville, in October 2005 in the rural Monticello home Sidoff and her husband rented. She also was convicted of stealing about $50,000 in cash from Sturzenegger.
Sidoff argued for a new trial because she “received ineffective assistance of trial counsel because her attorney did not object to the jury instructions for the lesser-included offense,” according to the court’s ruling.
The appeals court did not agree.
“We conclude that Sidoff did not receive ineffective assistance of counsel,” the ruling states.
Sidoff met Sturzenegger after the elderly woman was admitted to the psychiatric unit at UW Hospital in Madison, where Sidoff was a certified nursing assistant. Prosecutors said Sidoff lured Sturzenegger, who often carried large amounts of cash with her, to the rural Monticello farmhouse. A jury agreed with prosecutors that Sidoff shot Sturzenegger once in the back of the head with a .40-caliber handgun and hid the body in a nearby horse pasture.
Jul 31, 2009 at 12:18 a.m.
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This killer got what she deserved. May the victim rest in peace.
Jul 30, 2009 at 8:08 p.m.
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This was a disgustingly heinous crime against a helpless elderly person by a caregiver no less. I hope she spends every one of her remaining days rotting in prison. It's exactly where she belongs and precisely what she deserves.
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