Dominican court sentences American in slaying of US hotelier

Associated Press

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — A panel of Dominican judges has sentenced an American citizen to 30 years in prison for killing and dismembering an expatriate U.S. hotel owner.

Frank Sorichetti was sentenced Monday after being found guilty of the 2014 slaying of Brent Renalt Lewis, owner of the Perla de Sosua hotel in the northern Dominican beach town of Sosua.

Lewis' remains were identified through DNA tests nearly six months after body parts were found scattered in woods in the province of Espaillat.

The hotelier's secretary has also been convicted of complicity in the homicide. Prosecutors said Sorichetti and the secretary conspired to murder Lewis to take over ownership of his hotel.

Sorichetti previously served a prison term in California for stalking an ex-girlfriend and her parents. His hometown was not immediately clear.