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Woman convicted of poisoning son's girlfriend seeks retrial

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) - A Pennsylvania woman convicted of poisoning her son's girlfriend with antifreeze is seeking a new trial, saying her trial attorney was ineffective.

Eighty-four-year-old Helen Galli was sentenced in October 2013 to 5 [1/2] to 12 years in prison. A Luzerne County jury had convicted her of aggravated assault and reckless endangering.Galli is from a borough called Wyoming. Prosecutors say she gave the girlfriend poisoned juice in 2010 because she didn't want the girlfriend getting between her and her son, who'd just signed a million-dollar natural gas lease. The girlfriend was hospitalized for weeks.Galli's attorney argued Wednesday her trial attorney failed to object to a hearsay statement establishing a link between her and the drink. A Superior Court panel earlier called the statement irrelevant to the weight of the evidence.