BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A Lackawanna man received a 25 years to life sentence Tuesday for killing his wife, Ashley Whiting, in July of 2015. Daniel Whiting received the maximum sentence from The Honorable Kenneth Case in Erie County Court.
“This is a very, very disturbing case…” said Acting Erie County District Attorney Michael Flaherty.
“Ashley Whiting suffered a horrible death-- fatally stabbed 30 times by her husband, Daniel Whiting,” he continued.
D.A. Flaherty said the facts demonstrated that the defendant committed the crime.
But Daniel Whiting maintained from the beginning, throughout the trial, and even at the sentencing that an unknown intruder killed Ashley and also stabbed him that night.
"I will continue to say I did not do this. This is not something that I can do,” said Whiting.
But the Honorable Kenneth Case praised the Lackawanna Police Department for their detective work presented to a jury at trial. They found evidence he said, or a lack-there-of, to show anyone else could have done it.
"Because of the lack of any blood outside the bedroom -- and this was as you can imagine -- when someone suffers 30 stab wounds, there’s a lot of blood spatter," said Flaherty.
Members of Ashley's family and friends visibly struggled to hear Whiting profess his innocence. But Judge Case made it clear to Whiting: the facts and the law would carry the day.
"What you did to Ashley and the actions you took in an attempt to cover up your cowardly act surely warrant the maximum sentence in this case," Case said.