Cassandra Brazeal, 36, was sentenced Thursday to 39 years in prison after pleading guilty to setting a house fire that killed two women in Santa Clara, New Mexico.
Grant County District Court Judge James Foy ordered Brazeal to serve 15 years for each of two second-degree murder counts and nine years for aggravated arson. The sentences will run consecutively, and she must serve at least 85 percent before becoming eligible for parole.
The fire occurred on November 28, 2023, at a home on West Lincoln Street. Victims Mary Lou Maynes, 78, and Sara Louise Maes, 60, were found dead inside after firefighters extinguished the blaze.
Brazeal was arrested in December 2023. Prosecutors said a detention officer overheard her say on a phone call, "I didn't mean to kill them" and "They must have spread the fire after I lit it." She received credit for more than two and a half years already served.
Judge Foy described the crimes as "heinous" during the hearing.