Justin Sales sentenced for shooting that killed 92-year-old woman

Posted at 8:42 AM, October 27, 2025

AMHERST, Va. (Court TV) — A Virginia man was sentenced to life in prison without parole plus 38 years for a shooting that killed a 92-year-old woman and injured her daughter.

In June, Justin Sales, was found guilty of multiple charges, including aggravated murder and aggravated malicious wounding, in connection with the June 25, 2019, incident.

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Justin Sales appears at his sentencing hearing

Justin Sales appears at his sentencing hearing on Oct. 27, 2025. (Court TV)

Doris Puleio, 92, died from her injuries after being shot multiple times. Her daughter, Trudy Goetz, 74, was also shot multiple times but survived the attack.

Sales was 18 years old when he was arrested and charged shortly after the shooting. After the charges were originally dismissed in 2021, he moved to New Hampshire, where he was convicted in 2023 in a sexual assault case. He was later reindicted for the current charges in Virginia.

At trial, prosecutors said Sales had planned to rob the women in a “terrible plan.”

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