Killer’s Insanity Plea Dropped in Murders
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SANTA ANA — A man convicted of fatally stabbing his deaf girlfriend and her mother withdrew his insanity plea Tuesday, ending two years of talks over whether to hold a new sanity phase of his trial.
Ronald James Blaney Jr., 35, was found guilty in 1989 of the murders of Priscilla Vinci, 33, and her mother, Josephine, 66. But the jury deadlocked over whether Blaney was insane when he committed the crimes.
Blaney stabbed Priscilla Vinci 24 times and stabbed her mother 18 times. Authorities arrested Blaney the day after the slaying at his mother’s Arizona home.
Blaney faces a maximum term of life in prison without the possibility of parole when he is sentenced Feb. 26.
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