Woman, 50, gets five to 15 years in boiling water death

A 50-year-old Las Vegas woman who killed a woman by throwing boiling water on her during an argument last year was sentenced Monday to five years to 15 years in prison.

Jackie Wilridge pleaded guilty in January to robbery and involuntary manslaughter in the death of Patricia James. Wilridge originally was charged with murder with a deadly weapon.

Wilridge apologized for what she had done before she was sentenced by District Judge David Barker.

Wilridge was given almost a year's credit for time already served.

Authorities said on July 3, 2009, Wilridge threw boiling water on James at an apartment at 2287 Concord St., near Martin Luther King Boulevard and Carey Avenue.

The women were in the apartment smoking crack cocaine when James started distributing cash to four women present, but not to Wilridge, according to a Las Vegas police report.

While the women argued, Wilridge boiled a pot of water and threw it on James, burning about 15 percent of her body, the report stated.

James was taken to University Medical Center and died from her injuries a few days later, according to the police report.