A Niagara Falls teenager has been sentenced to 22 years-to-life in prison for killing a 5-year-old girl he was babysitting. John Freeman Jr. was sentenced in Niagara County Court Thursday. He pleaded guilty in July to charges of second-degree murder and evidence tampering.
Authorities say the 17-year-old Freeman killed Isabella Tennant at the girl's great-grandparents' home in Niagara Falls in August 2012. Tennant was spending the night there while her mother was at work. Freeman was a neighbor of the homeowners, who said they left the girl in his care when they went to bed.
Investigators say Freeman disposed of Isabella's body in a garbage container with the help of an 18-year-old friend, Tyler Best.
Best took a plea deal in August, admitting to tampering with physical evidence and hindering prosecution. He faces a more lenient sentence of 16 months to four years in jail when he learns his fate later this month.
