Wednesday, August 02, 2000, updated at 09:51(GMT+8)
World
U.S. Soldier Gets Life in Prison for Murder of Albanian Girl
A U.S. soldier who admitted killing an 11-year-old ethnic Albanian girl while on peacekeeping duty in Kosovo was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Staff Sgt. Frank Ronghi, 36, got the maximum sentence for the murder, forcible sodomy and indecent acts in the death of Merita Shabiu last January. Earlier Tuesday, in his first public statement since being arrested six months ago, he apologized to the girl's family, saying ''I don't know what went wrong that day.'' Reading from a piece of paper and showing no emotion, he added apologies to the Army, his unit and his family ''for all the hurt I have caused.''
A U.S. soldier who admitted killing an 11-year-old ethnic Albanian girl while on peacekeeping duty in Kosovo was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.