Iona man sentenced to 25 years for murdering girlfriend with hammer

An Iona man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to murdering his girlfriend with a hammer in February.

Investigators say Suzanne LaPierre wanted to break up with James Lally, 51. That’s when he killed her.

“Got into a fight and things got heated and I hit her in the head with a hammer,” Lally said during his plea proceedings.

LaPierre’s family became emotional as Lally stood before a judge and admitted to hitting LaPierre with a hammer.

“No one should have to fight horrific images of their sister and daughter’s last moments and wonder if she suffered or if she knew what was about to happen,” LaPierre’s sister Christine said during her victim impact statement. “This haunts us.”

Lally apologized to each family member after they concluded their statements.

LaPierre’s family does not want her death to define her legacy.

“We would really rather have people remember that she was like really kind, loving sweet person and that’s really what we want people to take away,” Christine said.

So in open court on Monday, they shared stories about LaPierre.

LaPierre was passionate about helping the elderly. She worked with Alzheimer’s patients in nursing homes for years.

“She loved caring for the elderly, doing their hair, painting their nails, certainly not part of her job at her nursing home but it gave her joy to see them happy,” said her mother Barabara Weigold.

Her helping nature led her to take Lally into her home in Iona’s Century 21 community. She tried to be generous and helped “the wrong person. That’s the bottom line,” Weigold said.

“Suzanne saw an opportunity to help someone in an even tougher position than she was.  She stepped up to the plate,” Weigold added.

The couple disappeared in February which sparked a multi-day search for the couple that led to a wooded area along a dirt road in Lee County where authorities found LaPierre’s body.