The man who fatally stabbed a hospital worker in 2016 at an Onancock, Va., hospital has been sentenced to life in prison.
Winston Burton, 58, had been convicted of first-degree murder by a jury in July, according to Delmarva Now.
On November 28, 2016, Burton waited for his estranged ex-girlfriend, Shelli Crockett, to arrive at Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital where she worked in the environmental services department.
After Crockett parked her vehicle, Burton reached inside with a knife and stabbed her multiple times. When police arrived, Crockett was being treated by hospital staff but was later pronounced dead.
The medical examiner who performed Crockett’s autopsy says she was stabbed 46 times, 20 of which were to her head and neck.
“In my more than 40 years as an attorney, this is probably the most brutal and horrific crime I have ever had to deal with. I have read the presentence report and did not detect any sign of remorse. The word monster came to my mind,” attorney Bruce Jones said during the sentencing.
A male co-worker who witnessed the beginning of the attack ran into the hospital to get a security guard. When they returned, Burton sped off.
Another witness who testified during the trial says Burton dragged the victim’s body to a dumpster while stabbing her.
Crockett had taken out a protective order against Burton two months before her death but it was later marked ‘dismissed’, reports wavy.com.
Perpetrator Had Violent Past Dating Back 40 Years
Court records show Burton had a violent history dating back to 1976 when he served time for statutory burglary and grand larceny.
In 1982, while on probation for a violent bar fight, Burton was arrested for stabbing his wife with a steak knife. He was sentenced to six years in prison but was released in 1985 on parole.
In 1993, a jury found Burton guilty of malicious wounding, burglary and gun charges after he shot his ex-girlfriend. He was sentenced to 27 years but was released in 2004.
In 2006, Burton pleaded guilty to malicious wounding after stabbing a man he says was “taking stuff out of his mother’s house”. He was sentenced to 20 years with 15 years suspended and was released on July 8, 2015.
Judge W. Revell Lewis III sentenced Burton to serve the 15 suspended years in connection with the 2006 attack on top of his life sentence.
Following the fatal stabbing, additional security measures were taken by Riverside Shore Memorial, including employee escorts to parking lots by request and parking lot patrols by sheriff’s deputies during shift changes.
