San Diego teen gets 16 years to life in prison for hammer death of adoptive mother

San Diego teen gets prison for mom’s hammer death

SAN DIEGO — A San Diego girl who acknowledged beating her adoptive mother to death with a claw hammer when she was 14 has been given 16 years to life in state prison.

Sixteen-year-old Heather Marie D’Aoust was sentenced Wednesday in Superior Court.

Prosecutors say D’Aoust has serious psychological problems and struck her adoptive mother at least 15 times with the hammer in the kitchen of their Scripps Ranch home in May 2008.

Fifty-six-year-old Rebecca D’Aoust died at a hospital.

The girl had argued with her mother a day earlier. An FBI agent testified that the teen’s cell phone had a text message about her plans to kill her mother.

The teen pleaded guilty last month to second-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A San Diego teen who acknowledged beating her adoptive mother to death with a claw hammer when she was 14 is scheduled to be sentenced for murder.

Sixteen-year-old Heather Marie D’Aoust faces 16 years to life in prison when she appears in Superior Court on Wednesday.

Prosecutors say D’Aoust has serious psychological problems and struck her adoptive mother at least 15 times with the hammer in the kitchen of their Scripps Ranch home in May 2008.

Fifty-six-year-old Rebecca D’Aoust died at a hospital.

The girl had argued with her mother a day earlier. An FBI agent testified that the teen’s cell phone had a text message about her plans to kill her mother.

The teen pleaded guilty last month to second-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon.