MISSOULA, Montana — A Montana homeowner convicted of deliberate homicide in the fatal shooting an unarmed 17-year-old German exchange student who entered his garage was sentenced to 70 years in prison Thursday.
Markus Kaarma will not be eligible for parole for the first 20 years of his sentence.
He was found guilty of killing Diren Dede of Hamburg in December in a trial that tested Montana’s “castle doctrine” self-defense law, which allows deadly force against a home invasion, if a person reasonably believes it is necessary to prevent an assault.