Woman sentenced to 25 years in prison for murdering victim whose headless body was found in a park

WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut woman was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the murder of a woman whose headless body was found in a state park.

Casandra Nazario, 26, of Waterbury had pleaded guilty in April to murder, first-degree burglary and tampering with evidence for her part in the July 2020 stabbing death of Rachel Lerato Sebetlela.

A hiker found Sebetlela’s remains wrapped in blankets and garbage bags at Black Rock State Park in Watertown on Sept. 12, 2020.

Nazario, who was sentenced Monday in Superior Court, had entered a plea deal with prosecutors and testified against her codefendant, Miles Johnson, who was sentenced Aug. 2 to 55 years in prison.

During Johnson’s trial prosecutors presented evidence that he and Nazario, who had been dating, stabbed Sebetlela multiple times in the torso after the pair entered her home.

Prosecutors presented evidence that Sebetlela’s boyfriend in New York had told Nazario that Sebetlela and Johnson were having an affair and claimed that Sebetlela might have exposed them to HIV. Sebetlela had also told Nazario that she was pregnant with Johnson’s child, prosecutors said.

Nazario testified that she and Johnson spent the day preparing for the murder, including purchasing black clothing and a knife.