Poet Sentenced in 2003 Slaying of Mother-In-Law

A poet was sentenced yesterday to nearly 28 years to life in prison for bludgeoning his fiancée's mother to death on Valentine's Day in 2003, prosecutors said.

Tony Sexton, who represented himself at trial, was convicted of second-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence in the death of Maria Rogers, 57. Sexton, 37, received a sentence of 27 2/3 years to life in prison and was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine, the Queens district attorneys office said.

Sexton, an aspiring artist and poet, moved in with his fiancée and her mother in Queens. On February 14, 2003, he became enraged with Rogers and killed her.