A New York man was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for strangling his wife to death during an argument and hiding her body in the trunk of a rental car, which was discovered months later by rental car lot employees.
Scott Tyrell, 58, learned his fate on Monday, following the death of Lisa Dashnaw-Tyrell, 57. He pleaded guilty in September to second-degree murder and concealment of a corpse.
Local ABC affiliate WVNY reported that Tyrell’s sentencing drew criticism from the victim’s family members.
Look at me. “I want you to look at me,” the victim’s brother stated. “You took away a daughter, sister, mother, grandmother, a friend to many.”
According to the station, Heather Young, the oldest daughter, also spoke out in court.
“Scott Tyrell deserves to have the same torture done to him that he did to my mother,” she told me.
Tyrell also spoke, breaking down in tears, according to the outlet.
“What I did was horrible, horrible, horrible,” Tyrell admitted. “That’s all I have to say.” Words are inexpensive. But I apologize to the Dashnaw family because what I did was very evil.
He murdered her in late March at their home in Peru, a town upstate, and then stuffed her body into the trunk of his rental car.
The body was discovered on May 28 after the car was repossessed and returned to an Enterprise Rental Car lot, according to a press release from authorities.
New York State Police responded to the Enterprise in Plattsburgh, which is about 15 miles north of Peru.
A trooper, who was there for an unrelated complaint, was informed by Enterprise employees about an overdue rental car that was reclaimed under suspicious circumstances, according to officials.
Enterprise discovered the vehicle at a residence in town and towed it back to Enterprise.
The tow truck operator requested that the trooper be present while they searched the vehicle.
Dashnaw-Tyrell’s body was discovered in the trunk of the vehicle by Enterprise employees.
Authorities quickly discovered that her husband was the last known driver of the vehicle and arrested him during a traffic stop.
Larry Macey Jr., the victim’s nephew, informed the outlet of the grim discovery.
“She was in there for so long that the body was decayed,” he told me. “You couldn’t tell who it was.”
According to her obituary, Dashnaw-Tyrell, a mother of three with ten grandchildren, worked as a dietary nutritionist for 25 years.
“She very much enjoyed flower gardening and music but her true love was her family, especially time with her grandchildren,” according to the funeral announcement.
