Dolly Hendrickes gets life for Andres Claudio mini van death. Dauphin County, Pennsylvania woman ran over boyfriend cause she felt disrespected.
A Pennsylvania woman accused of killing her boyfriend by running him over with her van in 2019 was convicted of first-degree murder this week by a Dauphin County jury and will serve life in prison, prosecutors said Friday.
The jury determined that Dolly Serena Hendrickes, 40, killed Andres Claudio Sr., 68, on Oct. 10, 2019. According to evidence presented at trial, the couple was arguing over family issues while driving on Cameron Street in Harrisburg in Hendrickes’ van.
While the van was stopped at a red light at the intersection of Cameron and Maclay streets, Claudio exited the van in an attempt to get away from Hendrickes. As he walked onto a nearby median, Hendrickes drove the van across two lanes of traffic, struck Claudio from behind with the van, and dragged him about 25 feet before driving off.
The gruesome incident was captured on the dash cam of a nearby tractor-trailer that was stopped for a red light, according to Patriot News.
Hendrickes was apprehended by police at her Susquehanna Township home a short time after the incident, where she had gone home to ‘take it easy,’ Penn Live reported.
‘My thinking was not clear…’
Several civilian witnesses observed the crime and stayed with Claudio until police and EMS workers arrived, only for the man to fatally succumbed to his injuries a short time later according to Harrisburg Police.
‘I was upset, frustrated. I felt disrespected and ignored,’ Hendrickes told the jury during the trial, according to Penn Live. ‘My thinking at that time was not clear…I didn’t think before I reacted.’
After a two day trial, the jury convicted Hendrickes of first-degree murder. On Thursday, Judge Richard A. Lewis imposed a sentence of life imprisonment, calling the woman’s actions and behavior, ‘bizarre and horrific’.
During trial proceedings, Hendrickes said she was ‘remorseful’, along with saying that she missed Claudio. She also claimed that she was having a psychotic episode during the murder. The judge approved a request for her to be scheduled for mental health treatment in prison.
‘In complete 100% control…’
Hendrickes’ defense had attempted to get her convicted of a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter according to Patriot News. But Prosecutor Stephen Zawisky was having none of it.
On cross-examination, Zawisky had her watch the crash video again.
‘You’re in complete, 100 percent control of that car, aren’t you?’ he asked.
‘That is correct,’ Hendrickes replied.
‘You could feel his body underneath that van, couldn’t you?’ the prosecutor continued.
‘Yes,’ Hendrickes said.
Of note, Hendrickes declined to speak at her sentencing hearing.
Prosecutors noted that the victim was a hard working man and an innocent victim of an ‘awful crime’. Prosecutors applauded the efforts of the ‘good citizens’ who remained at the scene with the victim to render aid and testified at trial.
