A Lansdowne, Pa. man has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for Twitter messages he sent to KYW meteorologist Kate Bilo (pictured) threatening to kill her in front of her son, according to the Philadelphia Daily News:
Justin Vernot, 30, made the threats against CBS3’s Kate Bilo through the Twitter account @ColdDeadEyes in February 2012, telling her that he knew her routine, was coming for her, and planned to kill her in front of her son.
The chilling messages were noted by U.S. District Judge Paul Diamond when he handed down a sentence that topped both federal guidelines and the term requested by the prosecutor. The sentence also focused heavily on conduct Vernot was not charged with, including messages he sent on the CaringBridge networking site to two children with potentially terminal illnesses.
AdvertisementDiamond said Vernot “intended to inflict severe distress” on those families and Bilo, rejecting the defense’s argument that Vernot’s actions were partially the product of a brain injury sustained during a drug-induced blackout.