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Las Vegas woman who killed boyfriend after finding tampon heads to prison: ‘I love him very much'
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A 31-year-old woman who rammed her boyfriend with a car, killing him, after finding another woman's tampon in the trash, will serve at least 12 years in prison, a judge ruled Tuesday.
In May 2024, Julie Bush killed Richard 'Rick' Penardo Jr., 51, during a fight outside a home near Oakey Boulevard and Eastern Avenue in the east valley.
While speaking with police, Bush said she found another woman's tampon in the trash and confronted Penardo about it. The two began to argue, and Penardo 'retrieved a long, steel chain from the residence and went over to her vehicle,' documents said. 'He then started to swing the chain around, breaking the windows of Bush's vehicle.'
Bush then allegedly accelerated the car, hitting Penardo and causing him to fly into the air and collide with a brick wall, documents said. Bush drove away and returned to the home three times in several minutes before ramming Penardo, prosecutors said.
Last March, Bush took a plea deal on voluntary manslaughter and DUI-with-death charges, records said. On Tuesday, as part of the deal, Clark County District Court Judge Carli Kierny sentenced Bush to 12-35 years in prison.
Before Kierny read her sentence, Bush's public defender noted Bush was the mother of a now-5-year-old girl and that body-camera video showed she was remorseful for her actions.
'I love him very much,' Bush told Kierny. 'I'm sorry that he passed away and I wish I could change it, but I can't, and I know there's not a sentence in the world that's going to make anybody satisfied.'
Across several court hearings, prosecutors said a doorbell camera captured the entire incident, which they said shows Bush driving directly into Penardo. In court Tuesday, prosecutors said the tampon likely belonged to Penardo's roommate.
'Rick wasn't perfect,' Pernado's mother, Grace Fisher, told the court. 'He made plenty of mistakes and poor choices during his life. His biggest mistake was ever getting involved with Julie Bush. She made his life a living hell.'
With credit for time served, Bush will be eligible for parole in 2036.
Penardo served prison time on charges of forgery, accessory to felony, conspiracy to commit murder and insurance fraud, records said. In his most recent case, a judge sentenced him to 3-10 years in prison for unemployment insurance fraud. Prosecutors filed the claims while Penardo and his codefendants were incarcerated, officials said at the time of his sentencing.
Before that, Penardo took an Alford plea, meaning he did not admit guilt but agreed prosecutors had enough evidence to convince a jury to convict him for his role in the death of Maria Marino in 2008. Marino died from ligature strangulation in 2008. Penardo then helped two women, including his then-wife, dispose of Marino's body on Mt. Charleston, documents said. Judge Carolyn Ellsworth sentenced him to 2-5 years in prison.
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