The man convicted of fatally stabbing a Washington, D.C. jogger, who was originally from Greenacres, was sentenced to 30 years in prison Friday.
Wendy Martinez, 35, was running on Sept. 18 when a man came up and stabbed her multiple times. Police later arrested Anthony Crawford and charged him with first-degree murder while armed.
In June, Crawford pleaded guilty and spend 30 years in prison and five years of supervised release as part of an agreement with prosecutors.
Martinez grew up in Greenacres and graduated from Lake Worth High School. After graduation she moved to the D.C. area where she went to college and started her career. Just weeks before she died, she had become engaged to Daniel Hincapie. He later ran the Boston Marathon in her honor.
Many people in the courtroom Friday for the sentencing hearing were in tears, according to NBC 4 in Washington. Martinez's family said that while they were relieved the legal process was over, they will never be satisfied with a punishment for the man who killed Wendy.
Her mother said she forgave Crawford.
"We hope he finds peace in the middle of this storm he created," she said.
Crawford apologized to his victim's family and to his own family.
Crawford stole a kitchen knife from a local grocery store and encountered Martinez about 20 minutes later. He attacked her at a intersections, stabbing her seven times.
Martinez staggered into a Chinese takeout restaurant, where she collapsed as strangers tried to save her.
