Blake Stangel sentenced to 28 years in prison for murder of 71-year-old Courtney Fenske

HIBBING, Minn. -- A Hibbing man was sentenced to more than 28 years in prison for the 2017 murder of a 71-year-old woman.

Blake Stangel pleaded guilty to second-degree intentional murder and first-degree aggravated sale of a controlled substance in November. He was sentenced to 340 months, which was determined as part of his plea agreement. 

Courtney Fenske was found dead in her home near Hibbing on Nov. 29, 2017. She was strangled to death, according to an autopsy.

Stangel was a former renter of Fenske. A DNA sample tied him to her killing.