Despite her sobs for mercy, Melissa Marvin was sentenced to at least 60 years in prison on four counts of second-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon.(Court TV)

				MELISSA MARVIN TRIAL
				Should Marvin be tried for murder? Discuss on our message board Background Jan. 11 Openings Jan. 12 Update Jan. 13 Update Jan. 13 PM Update Jan. 14 Update Jan. 14 (Closings) Jan. 15 (Sentencing)

MANTEO, N.C. (Court TV) —A waitress with a history of drunk driving was convicted of second-degree murder in the deaths of four teen-agers in a 1999 car collision. Melissa Marvin, 30, then learned Saturday that she may spend the rest of her life in jail as a North Carolina judge sentenced her to at least 60 years in prison.

Jurors deliberated slightly over three hours Friday before returning their verdict. In addition to the second-degree murder conviction, Marvin was found guilty of assault with a deadly weapon.

Superior Court Judge Jerry Tillett sentenced Marvin to 174 to 218 months for each of the four counts of second-degree murder. Marvin received an additional 24 to 29 months months for assault with a deadly weapon. Judge Tillett said the sentences would be consecutive because the lives of Megan Blong, Amanda Geiger, Angie McGrady and Shana Lawler were equally important.

"I don't know how I could have said to one parent, 'Your child's life didn't matter,'" Judge Tillett said.

The judge also said that under the state's current sentencing rules, Marvin will not receive parole.

During her sentencing, a tearful Marvin, who did not testify during her trial, pleaded with the judge for mercy and apologized to the victims' families.

"I'm sorry for everything that happened," Marvin said. "I never intended to hurt anyone. There's not a malicious bone in my body."

On April 6, 1999 a heavily intoxicated Marvin barreled through a red light in the ocean resort town of Kill Devil Hills and crashed into a car carrying five 17-year-olds. High school juniors Lawler, Blong, Geiger and McGrady were killed, and their friend Michael Horner sustained serious injuries. A blood sample hours after the accident revealed that Marvin had a .21 blood alcohol level, nearly three times North Carolina's legal limit of .08.

Prosecutors Amber Davis and Robert Trivette portrayed Marvin in their closing arguments as a repeat drunk driver whose selfish attitude and reckless behavior claimed the lives of four young women on the cusp of adulthood.

Marvin's attorney, Michael Sanders, responded by alleging that the state's case was riddled with contradictions and inconsistencies that, he suggested, called the whole case into question. He pointed to conflicting statements by eye witnesses about the speed and operation of Marvin's vehicle just before the crash, cautioning jurors that while eye witness testimony "can be powerful, it can also be inconsistent."

"She is not a murderer, and this case does not rise to the level of murder. It's terrible. It's the saddest thing, as I have said, that we'll ever see. But she is not a murderer," Sanders said.

Marvin will appeal her conviction and sentence.

— Bryan Robinson

Additional reporting by Court TV's Harriet Ryan and The Associated Press.

Copyright© 2000 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.