Woman Behind Murder-for-Hire Plot Receives Life Sentence

Assistant State’s Attorney John Cox, who prosecuted the case, said he was happy with the sentence given to Karla Porter, 51, by Judge Robert Cahill Jr. in Baltimore County Circuit Court.  

"It’s basically what we were asking for," Cox said. 

In addition to the life without parole for the first-degree murder charge, Porter was sentenced to 40 years consecutively for charges related to the conspiracy to kill her husband William Porter. A jury found her guilty of the charges in August.

Two co-conspirators, Walter Bishop, who shot William Porter, and Susan Datta, who gave Bishop the gun, were already given life sentences for their roles in the crime. Seamus Coyle, Karla Porter’s nephew, was also given a life sentence for putting her in touch with Bishop in the murder-for-hire scheme. 

On March 1, 2010, William Porter was shot twice in the head at the Hess gas station, at 1600 E. Joppa Road, where he was the manager.