PHOENIX — Today a jury sentenced Travis Ricci to life in prison for the hate crime murder of Kelly Ann Jaeger in 2009.
On January 9 a jury found Ricci guilty of first-degree murder, aggravated assault, attempted first-degree murder, two counts of drive-by shooting, assisting criminal syndicate and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.
Authorities say Ricci intended to shoot Jaeger's boyfriend, who is black but instead fired fatal shotgun blasts at Jaeger, who is white.
Ricci yelled racial slurs at Jaeger's boyfriend, harassing him over dating a white woman during an argument in a north Phoenix park. Ricci left the scene to get a shotgun, returned in a sedan driven by Aaron Schmidt and fired two shots at Jaeger and her boyfriend.
Schmidt was convicted and sentenced to nine years in prison for his involvement in the shooting. He is scheduled for release in April 2020.
Authorities had sought the death penalty, saying Jaeger's killing was meant to further the interests of the Vinlanders Social Club, a neo-Nazi group with a reputation for violence that was later targeted in a law enforcement crackdown.
Prosecutors have called the attack a hate crime.
