Teen gets life for murder recorded on tape

TOM'S RIVER, New Jersey (CNN) -- A teen-ager was sentenced Friday to life in prison for carjacking and killing a teacher, who managed to record secretly the attack and her desperate pleas to be spared.

Michael LaSane, 17, will not be eligible for parole for 30 years. He pleaded January 27 to felony murder in the death of Kathleen Weinstein, 45.

He admitted that he hijacked Weinstein's car on March 14, 1996, at a shopping center and drove her to a wooded area. LaSane said he bound her ankles and wrists with duct tape and drove away but returned and smothered her after fearing a nearby utility crew could hear her screaming.

Before she was killed, Weinstein managed to activate a small, concealed tape recorder. It recorded a 46-minute conversation in which Weinstein could be heard crying, begging for her life and warning her attacker of the trouble he would face if he did not spare her.

Related story:

• Slain teacher's tape reveals more evidence - March 27, 1996

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