HOUSTON – A 19-year-old Katy teen found guilty of killing a 17-year-old female friend was sentenced to 60 years in prison on Thursday.
Alexander Olivieri was charged with shooting Bridgett Frisbie to death in April 2011. Her body was found in a wooded area near the 22800 block of Williamschase Drive.
Prosecutors said Olivieri killed Frisbie because they had been involved in a drive-by shooting and he was afraid that she was going to tell police, which would ruin his chance of having a military career.
Olivieri was found guilty Wednesday after three hours of deliberations. Jurors began deliberating punishment at 11 a.m. Thursday and reached a verdict at 2:30 p.m. He faced up to life in prison.
Olivieri showed little emotion when his sentence was read. Frisbie's relatives, who were sitting on the front row, seemed relieved.
Frisbie's father testified in the punishment phase. He said he has had trouble sleeping since his daughter was murdered and sometimes imagines her knocking on the front door.
"I keep a gun by my bed," Robert Frisbie said. "I never used to. I keep a gun near my bed. I unloaded it last night and set it on the front side. I just feel ... it's not a sense of release, it is justice, I think. Just the feeling of justice."