Judge: man sentenced to life as teen for murder of 17-year-old will stay in jail for life

Reporter: Annalise Iraola Writer: Carolina Guzman
Published: Updated:
Joshua Henninger Credit: FDLE

A man who appeared in court to be resentenced in a murder he committed as a teenager almost 20 years ago will have to continue his original sentence of life behind bars, according to a judge’s ruling.

Joshua Henninger had been sentenced to life in prison at 16 years old for murdering a teenage girl in 2005.

Henniger and another man killed Annamarie Cruz Randazzo, throwing her into a refrigerator and setting it on fire. Campers eventually found the 17-year-old’s body in the Lehigh Acres woods.

“Obviously, the outcome we wanted,” said Kristin Wingenfeld, Randazzo’s aunt. “I am not happy that he gets a review in a year, but for now, that’s what we’re looking for. This whole process has been torture. Just everything – my husband’s not sleeping again, and it’s like 20 years ago all over again. And like I said in my statement when you finally find a new way to live again, and then your whole life gets turned upside down.”

Henninger appeared in the Lee County courtroom because of his age at the time of his crime.

In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional to sentence anyone under 18 to life without a chance for parole.

The judge, however, decided life in jail was what he deserved.

It was an extraordinarily emotional day for the victim’s family, but they got the outcome they were hoping for.

Henniger was sentenced to life in prison on three charges: sexual battery, kidnapping and murder, and the sentence will be maintained, ruled the judge.

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