Woman to be sentenced Friday for daughter’s depraved indifference murder

Tue, 02/18/2020 - 6:15pm

    BELFAST — A woman, formerly of Stockton Springs, is scheduled to be sentenced Friday, Feb. 21 in Waldo County Superior Court for the Feb. 2018 murder of her then-ten-year old daughter Marissa Kennedy. 

    Sharon Kennedy, who returned to her maiden name following her December annulment from now ex-husband Julio Carrillo, was originally scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 7, but the date had to be rescheduled after Maine courts closed due to inclement weather.

    The start of her December trial for the depraved indifference murder of her daughter was similarly delayed after snow and icy weather caused the nine-day trial to start a day later than the originally scheduled Dec. 5 start. 

    Sharon Kennedy and Julio Carrillo were both arrested Feb. 26, 2018, the day after Marissa’s bruised and battered body was found in the Stockton Springs home the family shared at the time. An official autopsy revealed a litany of injuries, including bleeding on the brain, a lacerated liver, and severe abrasions to her knees and feet. 

    Julio Carrillo pled guilty to depraved indifference murder in August and was sentenced to 55 years in prison. 

    The marriage between Sharon and Julio Carrillo was annulled based on the fact that Julio was technically still married at the time, Christopher MacLean, one of Sharon Kennedy’s lawyers, said during her trial and prior to the annulment being granted.  

    MacLean and co-counsel Laura Shaw have long maintained that Sharon was not a participant in the abuse against her daughter, but a fellow victim of Julio Carrillo. 

    Following Sharon’s conviction, Assistant Attorneys General Donald Macomber and Leane Zainea said they intend to seek the maximum term of life imprisonment.

    Sharon’s attorneys also expressed their intention to appeal their client’s conviction following her sentencing. 


    Erica Thoms can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com