Neighbor Sentenced In Woman’s Stabbing Death

LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) — The neighbor of a woman found stabbed 16 times has been sentenced to two consecutive life sentences.

The American Press reports that 27-year-old José Manuel Garcia Guevara also was sentenced Friday to 30 years for burglary.

Authorities say 26-year-old Wanda Barton was found dead by her in-laws on Feb. 20, 2008, in the kitchen of her Lake Charles home. Her 4-year-old stepson was also in the home.

Guevara, who spent six years on the run before he was taken into custody in his native Mexico, is the only person connected to a Southwest Louisiana crime to be put on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list.

Guevara was returned to Calcasieu Parish in July and stood trial in January, being found guilty of second-degree murder, aggravated rape and aggravated burglary.

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