SALT LAKE CITY — A 71-year-old Taylorsville woman who pleaded guilty to gunning down her former daughter-in-law in a preschool parking lot was sentenced to prison Friday.
Mary Nance Hanson, in a letter to the judge, also said she sees dead people and believes the woman she shot and killed has forgiven her.
Third District Judge Deno Himonas questioned Hanson, 71, extensively Friday in an effort to determine her mental state. After assurances from both attorneys in the case that she has been competent throughout court proceedings and that a previous evaluation found her competent, Himonas sentenced the woman to 15 years to life for the murder of her former daughter-in-law, Tetyana "Tanya" Nikitina, 34.
Hanson was charged with murder, a first-degree felony, for the Jan. 29 shooting in which she fired multiple rounds at Nikitina while the younger woman was trying to drive away from the Millcreek preschool where she worked.
"This is senseless killing," the judge told Hanson Friday. "This is inexcusable."
In a letter Hanson sent to the judge in advance of her sentencing hearing Friday, Hanson said she saw her deceased ex-daughter-in-law and a mysterious unborn child.
"I was still reluctant to say I saw dead people," she wrote, referring to a previous letter. "Because I saw Tanya and Misha that day, and because I've forgiven a lot of people, my life has changed immensely."
Prosecutor Alicia Cook said what Hanson described seeing was not a hallucination, but rather an experience that Cook interpreted as a coping mechanism.
"Basically, she believes she's been forgiven by the victim," Cook said. "It wasn't a sign of a mental illness or a cognitive problem."
At one point, Himonas asked Hanson if she knew what Cook's role was in the proceedings. When Hanson replied: "She's going to try and get me in jail for as long as she can," the court erupted in laughter.
This was just the latest insult for Nikitina's fiance, Rod Hernandez.
"This isn't funny," he said. "None of this is lighthearted. That woman is a monster."
Hernandez, told the judge about the "wonderful" woman he lost the day Hanson took Nikitina's life — just weeks before the couple's scheduled wedding.
"I was supposed to have a future, a life with this woman," he said. "I had a house and she made it a home. Her children call me 'Dad.' I don't understand why (Hanson) would do something so awful. … She caused so much pain and destruction in people's lives."
He said Nikitina, however, was the kind of person who was always smiling and happy and generous. He once came home to find her kitchen table missing. She had given it away to someone she thought needed it more.
"She didn't have much, but she did everything she could for her children," he said. "She gave them everything she had."
Tears streamed down Hernandez's face as he described her as a terrific mother who is still deeply missed by her children, parents, sister and him.
Nikitina was previously married to Hanson's son, Dale Jankowski, and the couple had two children. Nikitina filed for divorce from Jankowski in February 2005.
Twice after the divorce, Nikitina filed for protective orders against Jankowski, claiming cohabitant abuse, according to court records. Though the records indicate that the divorce and ensuing custody battle have been rife with anger, police said previously they are unaware of anything that may have prompted such violent actions. It is not believed Jankowski had anything to do with the shooting, and Hanson reiterated that in court.
Hernandez said the custody battle was behind all the violence and said its only impact was harming the children. And though Nikitina's ex-husband now has custody of the children, Hernandez still sees them often.
"I love seeing them, but it takes me a while to recover," he said. "It sets me back remembering her and what we were like as a family. I was supposed to be happy, with a family, and (Hanson) took that away."
Hernandez told the judge initially that he felt Hanson's sentence wasn't harsh enough, but later changed his mind.
"I don't want (Hanson) dead. I want her to be on this earth to suffer with the rest of us," he said after the hearing.
In her letters, Hanson said she is "more sorry than (she) can express" for what she did and says she wishes she could have known her former daughter-in-law "as she truly is."
According to Hanson, Nikitina and what Hanson described as Nikitina's unborn son "Misha," also offer her comfort and have helped her become someone who helps her fellow inmates.
"I know that even though Tanya and Misha are not seen, they are still here with us, helping us every day," Hanson wrote. "I am happier and I am helping and encouraging the women here in this jail to change their lives."
Cook, however, said Nikitina was not pregnant at the time of her death.
And while Hanson may have found peace, for Hernandez there is no forgiveness.
"Mary will meet her maker," he said. "And when she stands before God, I hope she burns in hell."
e-mail: emorgan@desnews.com