What did David Sumney do? Pennsylvania man sentenced to 20 years in prison over mom’s death

In August 2019, David Sumney was charged with the gruesome murder of his own mother and then taking selfies with the dead body. Last week, the Allegheny County Court sentenced him to a minimum of 20 years and a maximum of 40 years in prison.

In a special hearing, Sumney's half-sister and his deceased mother's older sister appeared before Common Pleas Judge Edward Borkowski. They asked the judge to put aside the third-degree murder plea deal that Sumney was offered in August. The plea deal would ensure that David Sumney could be released in 17 years.

In 2019, David Sumney had fatally beaten his 67-year-old mother, Margaret, to death in her South Lafayette home. Margaret's body was found with fractured ribs, a spinal fracture, contusions on her body, and lacerations on her face.

Sumney had documented the horrific murder by taking around 277 photos of the crime, including bloody selfies with the dead body.

According to the Daily Beast, 33-year-old Sumney has been behind bars since 2019, and the plea deal he secured in August reduced his first-degree murder charge to a single count of third-degree murder.

During the special hearing last week, Sumney apologized for the heinous crime to the judge and to his family members who joined via Zoom. He said:

"I cannot believe what I did, that I killed my own mother. I cannot stop thinking about it. I think about it every day. I’m sorry, but sorry doesn’t cut it. I handled things as badly as a person could have."

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David Sumney's family condemns the court's decision, calls it shocking

Years after David Sumney was arrested for the gruesome murder of his mother, he secured a plea deal in August which reduced his charges to a single count of third-degree murder.

In a special hearing last week, his surviving family members asked the court not to reduce his first-degree murder charge, which would ensure a life imprisonment sentence.

According to the Daily Beast, Sumney's half-sister, Ellen, addressed him in court and said:

"You broke her back. You paralyzed our mother. And then you just beat her and beat her. The blood was splattered along the walls. But I think the sickest part is the pictures. The 277 pictures. You only take pictures if you want to go back and see what you did. David, she gave you everything she had, and when she didn’t have anything else to give, you killed her. I had no idea you were this kind of monster. And I’m still upset you were not prosecuted to the fullest. This was first-degree murder."

Sumney's mother's older sister, Mary Ellen, said that she wished he had gotten the death penalty for his actions. Another sister, Ann Shade, begged the court not to give their nephew a "second chance." David Sumney's cousin, Margo, recalled the horrific crime scene and said:

"He is the epitome of pure evil. We will never find peace with any of this."

However, the judge ruled against the family and sentenced him to 20 years in prison, mentioning "acrimony and dissension" in the case.

According to CBS News, prosecutors agreed to the plea deal because Sumney had a history of mental illness and alcoholism. Furthermore, he had no apparent motive to kill his mother, all of which would have made a first-degree conviction less likely.

Apart from inmates who agreed that David Sumney was a model prisoner, a doctor also stated that Sumney had diminished mental capacity due to “extremely high doses” of Adderall when he killed his mother in 2019.

The court's ruling left the family shocked as they are still reeling from the horrific murder of Margaret. The deceased woman's daughter said:

"I guess in this courtroom it's OK in Pennsylvania to steal all of someone's money, torture them for days, beat them to death and get it knocked down to third-degree murder."

David Sumney also faces another criminal case in Atlantic City for abusing his ex-girlfriend in 2019.