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• May 13, 2008 7:39 pm US/Eastern
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  Man Gets Life In Arson That Killed Mom, Infant

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Man Gets Life In Arson That Killed Mom, Infant

LAWRENCE, Mass. (AP) ― A Lawrence man convicted of arson was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday for a fire that killed a 26-year-old mother and her infant daughter.

Harry Guzman, 27, was convicted by a federal jury in January in the April 2003 fire that killed Matilda Medina and her 2-month-old daughter, Angelic Duran.

Prosecutors asked for a life sentence, saying there was strong evidence Guzman set or participated in a total of nine fires in Lawrence during a two-month period in 2003.

Guzman's lawyer, Charles McGinty, argued that the jury found Guzman acted as a lookout for another man, but did not actually set the fatal fire. McGinty did not immediately return a call seeking comment on the sentence Tuesday.

Most residents in the apartment were able to wake up and escape the 3 a.m. fire. Medina and her daughter suffered fatal carbon monoxide poisoning in their third-story bedroom.

Judge Joseph Tauro ordered Guzman to pay $350,000 in restitution to the insurance company that reimbursed owners of the building for the fire damage, and a total of $30,000 to two tenants.

(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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