Pennsylvania man who strangled Playboy model to death over drug payment after having sex with her sentenced to life
ARDMORE, PENNSYLVANIA: A Pennsylvania man convicted of the first-degree murder of Playboy model Christina Carlin-Kraft has now been sentenced to life in prison.
A judge added another 22.5 to 45 years to Jonathan Harris' lifetime sentence on Tuesday, saying the additional years were tacked on so that future governors or parole boards think twice before deciding to free the 31-year-old convict, People reports.
Carlin-Kraft, a professional model who had worked with the likes of Playboy and several other publications, was murdered in her Ardmore apartment on August 22, 2018.
According to officials, the 36-year-old model was strangled to death.
Harris was previously convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping, possession of an instrument of a crime and strangulation in the model’s untimely death.
That said, jurors took a little over five hours of deliberation to reach their verdict.
As previously reported, Harris acknowledged in court he was high on a number of drugs when he got into in a fight with Carlin-Kraft incited by a dispute over a cocaine sale.
During interrogation, Harris told police he never meant to kill her.
Carlin-Kraft met him in Philadelphia on August 22, 2018, and the two later returned to her Ardmore apartment, where her body was found that evening.
According to him, the altercation began after the two snorted cocaine, had consensual sex, and then Carlin-Kraft refused to pay for the drugs they had just consumed.
Harris grabbed the model by her neck after exchanging several blows when the latter attempting to dial 911.
He admitted to covering her with a blanket after beating her because he knew "she was hurt really bad".
"I covered her with a blanket because I didn’t want to see her like that," he reportedly told the court.
When he left her apartment that evening, he told police he hadn't realized she was dead.
Police later found her bundled up in clothing.
Montgomery County DA Kevin Steele said at the time, "Christina was beaten, and the beating was substantial. Her nose was broken, she had black eyes, there was a lot of blood," according to WPVI. "Then she died of strangulation. Something was put around her neck."
Harris was arrested a week after the murder on August 29.