Man Gets Life in Prison for 21st Birthday Stabbing of Veteran

A man will spend the rest of his life behind bars without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty in the stabbing death of a homeless veteran near a suburban Philadelphia train station last summer.

Dale Wakefield stabbed George Mohr after a night out celebrating his 21st birthday.

The Doylestown resident pleaded guilty Thursday in Bucks County Court to first-degree murder in a deal with prosecutors who had vowed to seek capital punishment.

Wakefield told reporters outside the courtroom that he took the deal because he "didn't want the death penalty." Prosecutors said the sentence will make the community safer.

Prosecutors said he stabbed 71-year-old Mohr more than 70 times with a pocket knife July 3 outside the Doylestown train station.

Wakefield's sister testified that her brother “just snapped” when Mohr said something to him after his request for money was rejected.

Mohr's sister, Kathy Driscoll, called the victim a "kind, generous, caring" man, tearfully recounting his Army service and subsequent battles with schizophrenia.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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