A Marshfield, Massachusetts, woman convicted earlier this month of second-degree murder in the 2021 stabbing of her Boston firefighter husband was sentenced Thursday to life in prison.
Christine Ricci, 49, was convicted Aug. 2 on charges of second-degree murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in the Jan. 28, 2021, stabbing death of her husband, 51-year-old Michael Ricci, 51, in their Moraine Street home.
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Authorities said the couple argued before Christine grabbed a knife, stabbing her husband twice, in the heart and the upper back. Emergency personnel located a knife when they responded to the home. During the trial, prosecutors said the Riccis' relationship had deteriorated and was marked by frequent arguments due to Christine's jealousy and anger over an affair that Michael had in 2018.
Christine Ricci was sentenced Thursday by Plymouth County Superior Court Judge Diane Freniere to a minimum of six years in prison on the assault and battery charge plus life in prison with the possibility of parole in 20 years on the murder charge.
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Prosecutors had asked for a maximum sentence with only the possibility of parole after 25 years on the murder charge and 8-10 years on the assault and battery charge, while defense lawyers were seeking parole eligibility after 15 years.
Freniere handed down her sentence after listening to victim impact statements from Michael and Christine Ricci's three children, Michael Ricci's mother and four of his siblings. Before reading her sentence, the judge cited "a cycle of escalating abuse" that Christine had perpetrated on her husband, along with the fact that she showed "no expression of remorse" for the killing.
Christine Ricci's children asked for leniency in sentencing, while Michael Ricci's mother and siblings asked the judge to impose the maximum sentence, citing a pattern of mainpulation and alienation that effectively cut Michael off from the rest of his family.
"My dad was and still is my hero," Michael Ricci Jr. told the judge. "He was the person I looked up to and I tried to live my life the way he did. He was that constant example to me to live my life selflessly... We have years of healing we have to do. It's going to take a lot of time, a lot of tears and perseverance, but we have to do it alone between me and my siblings."
William Ricci, one of Michael Ricci's brothers, described Christine as an abusive, violent person
"We were in utter shock and dismay," he said of finding out that his brother had been killed. "Our family did not expect to wake up that morning and have our loved one taken away from us so suddenly and in such a horrific way... Shame on you."
Christine Ricci is expected to begin serving her sentence immediately at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley.
