Pittsylvania County woman sentenced to more than 30 years for friend's murder

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PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY (WSLS 10) - A Pittsylvania County woman will spend more than 30 years in jail for killing her friend.

Christy Beskin was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years for an arson charge with five years suspended and 40 years on a second degree murder charge with eight years suspended.

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Beskin pleaded guilty to the charges against her in February. The charges are connected to the death of Donna Hiatt-Lainer.

Beskin told law enforcement she beat Hiatt-Lanier to death in March of 2015 and then set her home on fire after she refused to give her money.

A family member of the victim says, he's disgusted by the way Beskin's attorney tried to make Beskin look like a nice person in order to get a lower sentence.

"To handle herself the way that she did, the accusations that she made, to a family that's already wounded is unbelievable," said Wayne Aaron, the victim's cousin.

Aaron says, he hopes over time the family will be able to forgive Beskin.