A resident of Binghamton's West Side who was convicted of murder and arson has been sentenced to 70 years to life in prison.

45-year-old Wilfredo Pica-Torres was found guilty by a jury in August. He was sentenced in Broome County Court Friday.

Pica-Torres had been accused of killing 61-year-old Victor Banayan and severely beating a 27-year-old woman during the early-morning hours of February 9.

WILFREDO PICA-TORRES (Photo: Binghamton Police Department)
WILFREDO PICA-TORRES (Photo: Binghamton Police Department)
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Banayan and the woman were attacked in an apartment house at 109 Walnut Street.

Investigators said Pica-Torres set the place on fire. The badly-injured woman was able to escape the burning structure, along with four adults and three children who were in another apartment in the building.

Pica-Torres fled to a Thorp Street house where he barricaded himself inside an apartment before setting another fire.

Police took him into custody as he emerged from the building.

An apartment house at 109 Walnut Street after firefighters extinguished a blaze on February 9, 2019. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)
An apartment house at 109 Walnut Street after firefighters extinguished a blaze on February 9, 2019. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)
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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com

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