An Ellenwood teen could spend up to 50 years in jail for killing his ex-girlfriend in what prosecutors said turned out to be a botched murder-suicide.
Kevin Kosturi was 15 when he fatally shot his on-again-off-again high school sweetheart Angel Hope Freeman days after their break-up.
Clayton County Superior Court Judge Geronda Carter sentenced Kosturi to life – Georgia state statute defines “life” in prison as 30 years – plus 20 years Monday.
He will be eligible for parole following the 30-year life sentence, and will receive credit for the two years he has already served in the Clayton County Jail.
A Clayton County jury earlier this month found Kosturi guilty of murder, aggravated assault, felony murder — causing a person’s death during the commission of a felony — tampering with evidence, giving false statements to police, possession of a gun during the commission of a felony and gun possession by a minor for the death of the 16-year-old Freeman.
During the trial, witnesses said Kosturi and Freeman had been seen arguing in the days leading up to the shooting.
In testimony, more than one of Kosturi’s friends said he had articulated in some manner that he was going to kill Freeman.
Kosturi repeatedly asked his next-door-neighbor Robert Allen Bethune for a gun, claiming the weapon was needed to ward off a bully at church. Bethune testified that he finally relented, giving Kosturi a five-shot .38-caliber revolver on the eve of the shooting.
On Feb. 21, 2011, Kosturi went to his make-shift fort in a wooded area near his home, fired three rounds, then called Freeman to invite her to come out, prosecutors said.
When she arrived, he shot her at close range in the chest, killing the teen, authorities said.
Prosecutors said Kosturi then turned the handgun on himself, but it misfired, and he tried to hide the weapon.
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