PHOENIX — The man who strangled a woman to death on a Valley Metro bus in 2022 has been sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Joshua Bagley was sentenced Friday in Maricopa County after he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and kidnapping, in connection to the death of 41-year-old Diane Craig.
A bus driver discovered Craig unresponsive after the defendant strangled her on a Valley Metro bus in Phoenix. Bagley got off the bus before police arrived and was arrested a few days later.
Bagley's family told Maricopa County Judge Sam Myers that they requested he reject the plea agreement offered to their loved one's killer.
“It's not fair at all. I did express that to the judge that my first option was death or life in prison, but what can you do," Diane's sister, Adrian, said. "I was hoping for the best. I just would have to try.”
In a statement to 12News, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office says they considered numerous factors when they decided to offer Bagley the plea agreement:
Plea agreements are based on the unique details of each case. Prosecutors consider the evidence, the seriousness of the crime, the defendant’s role, the impact on victims, the witnesses available to testify, and many other factors to ensure a fair and appropriate outcome. Before being offered, plea agreements are thoroughly vetted and reviewed by senior staff and are ultimately made at the discretion of this office.
A couple of days before Craig's death, Bagley was released from custody in Maricopa County for an unrelated matter, even though an extradition had been signed in Mohave County to transport Bagley.
Craig's family later filed a wrongful death lawsuit against government agencies for allegedly not properly extraditing Bagley out of Maricopa County.
Bagley was sentenced to 25 years for the murder charge and 15 years for the kidnapping charge. The sentences will run consecutively to each other.
In an address to the judge and Craig's family, Bagley told them that he was sorry for taking her life, calling it the "biggest mistake of his life."
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