TAMPA – A Tampa man with a history of domestic violence has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for fatally stabbing his pregnant girlfriend with a screwdriver.Thirty-nine-year-old Phan To Van Phan plead guilty to second-degree murder in court Wednesday.
He admitted stabbing Sonya Simone in the neck with a screwdriver during an argument in February 2006.
Prosecutor Mark Lewis said, “Phan told police that the couple fought because she had threatened to get an abortion. She was in her first trimester.”
Phan had been found incompetent to stand trial but has since been ruled competent.
He served more than five years in prison in the 1990s after being convicted of torturing his former wife.
-Womenslegal
Source: Associated Press
Tags: domestic violence, Florida, Mark Lewis, Phan To Van Phan, Sonya Simone, Tampa, violence against women
This entry was posted by womenslegal
on Wednesday, November 19th, 2008 at 9:48 pm and is filed under Headline News, domestic violence.
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About The Author
I am a divorced single mother who faced the brutal battle fields of the family law court system for eight years and I am a survivor of Domestic Violence. As a result of my experience; I founded Women’s Legal Resource in 2006. Women’s Legal Resource originally designed as a tool I used to vent my frustrations with having to deal with bureaucratic red tape of child custody and child support, other women who were experiencing the same ordeal, started emailing me for advice. Today, I advocate and empower other women to take charge of their legal challenges and encourage others to take a stand to be proactive. Knowledge is a powerful resource.
Unfortunately, the legal system is failing women and their children who are victims of domestic violence and often the courts give custody to the fathers who are perpetrators of violence and abuse. Women's Legal resource plays an active role in advocating for Domestic Violence Reform, as well as, Family Law Reform and supports several assembly bills currently is legislation with Assembly woman, Fiona Ma.
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