Mount Vernon serial stabber to be sentenced for girlfriend's murder

MOUNT VERNON (WABC) -- A man who has been attacking women with knives for decades and spent half his life in prison as a result may never get out again.

Tuesday is sentencing day for Lucius Crawford, who murdered three women, including his former girlfriend, in Westchester County.

Crawford faces 25 years to life behind bars for fatally stabbing Tonya Simmons inside his home in Mount Vernon two years ago.

Police say he admitted that jealousy drove him to kill her.

Investigators say Crawford also confessed to stabbing two other women to death in 1993.

The same jury that convicted Crawford of murdering Simmons could not reach a verdict on a second knife killing. Crawford is awaiting trial in the Bronx on a third murder charge.

The 61-year-old Crawford has spent about 30 years in prison for non-fatal stabbings of women in New York and South Carolina.

In transcripts released last year, Crawford said he stabbed women for no reason, usually while high.