Saratoga County District Attorney Karen A. Heggen announced today that Michael C. Norton, (d.o.b. 11/4/58), of 7 Third Avenue, Hadley, New York, pleaded guilty to Murder in the Second Degree, in violation of New York State Penal Law Section 125.25(1), a “Class A-I” felony for having killed his wife on May 2-3, 2017 in their home in the Town of Hadley with an ax. Defendant Norton admitted to Saratoga County Court Judge James A. Murphy, III, that “…with intent to cause the death of another person, he caused the death of Sherry Norton”. The plea was accepted in full satisfaction of the charges previously filed against the defendant by a Saratoga County Grand Jury. The defendant also waived his right to appeal.
The investigation of the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office, with the assistance of the New York State Police, revealed that Michael Norton struck his wife Sherry Norton about the head and back with an ax during the night of May 2-3, 2017. Sherry Norton died because of the injuries she suffered that night.
District Attorney Karen A. Heggen commended the collaborative efforts of the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office, the New York State Police- particularly the Forensic Identification Unit, and Assistant District Attorney Jennifer L. Buckley, who handled the case. Heggen noted, “The thorough investigation by the team of law enforcement officers from the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office and the New York State Police Forensic Identification Unit resulted in a case where all of the evidence supported and corroborated the fact that Michael Norton brutally killed his wife”.
Sentencing is scheduled for January 11, 2018. It is expected that Norton will receive a sentence that day of 20 years to life.
Photo credit: Post Star