LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. (TCN) — A 25-year-old woman will spend the next several years in a mental health facility for killing her grandmother because she wouldn’t let her eat a hamburger.
The Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office announced Dec. 5 that a judge ordered Shasta Marie Sigman to five years of probation after she pleaded guilty but mentally ill to pushing her grandmother, leading her to her death. Sigman will spend the first six months of her sentence in the Lancaster County Prison. Court records show she entered the plea on Nov. 27 for a change of involuntary manslaughter. Sigman was originally charged with third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter.
The plea deal reportedly came together following “extensive input” from the family and noted it was the “best outcome” for everyone involved.
According to the district attorney’s office, in August 2023, Sigman told her grandmother she wanted a hamburger for lunch, but the grandmother said no. Sigman “shoved her 82-year-old grandmother in the chest, causing her to fall to the floor and strike her head against the wall.” The victim stopped breathing due to the fall.
Paramedics transported the grandmother to a nearby hospital, where she died. The autopsy determined her cause of death was a traumatic neck injury. Her death was ruled a homicide.
Sigman, who described herself as a “strong person,” reportedly told detectives she pushed the 82-year-old using her “full force” after she refused to give Sigman a hamburger.
The district attorney’ office said Sigman admitted she does not know “the concept of ‘no’ and that’s the whole problem. It’s hard for me.”
After pushing her grandmother, Sigman reportedly sat down and said she will “be OK; she’s fine,” rather than helping her.
Lancaster Online reports Sigman has developmental problems and was diagnosed with autism.
The judge told Sigman that if she injures anyone in her treatment facility, she could be sent to prison. Sigman said at her sentencing hearing that she wants to “try to focus on myself.”
MORE:
- Pequea Township Woman Sentenced After Pleading Guilty but Mentally Ill for Killing Grandmother in 2023 – Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office
- Willow Street woman pleads guilty but mentally ill in grandmother’s death [update] – Lancaster Online
