New sentence ordered in U.P. woman's death

MUNISING, Mich. (AP) -- The Michigan appeals court says an Upper Peninsula judge was too generous with a drunken driver convicted of accidentally killing his girlfriend. Thomas Murdock was sentenced to a minimum of two years in prison for drunken driving causing death -- a year less than the guidelines in his case. The appeals court is sending the case back to Alger County Judge William Carmody. Murdock struck Lisa Hardwick while backing up his truck so she could mow the lawn. He said he never knew she was behind the vehicle. They had been smoking marijuana and both had blood-alcohol levels above the legal limit for driving. Murdock had prior alcohol-related convictions. Published: Tue, Oct 15, 2013