Truck Driver, Garry Artman Sentenced for Sexual Assault and Murder of Pregnant Michigan Woman in 1996

A 65-year-old truck driver from Florida will spend the rest of his life in prison for the brutal sexual assault and murder of a pregnant 29-year-old mother in Michigan almost thirty years ago.

Garry Artman was sentenced to life in a state correctional facility without the possibility of parole by Kent County Circuit Court Judge Scott A. Noto. The 1996 killing of Sharron Hammack resulted in Artman being found guilty on counts of open murder, felony murder, and first-degree criminal sexual conduct. The victim had been subjected to rape, stabbing, hog-tying, and strangulation.

Emotions ran high in the courtroom as Hammack's sisters, Tina DeYoung and Terri Navitskas, directed powerful words at Artman, expressing their deep anguish and anger. DeYoung referred to Artman as a monster and hoped for his punishment in the form of suffering, while Navitskas called him nothing but a piece of garbage.

Prosecutors urged Artman to confess to his involvement in eleven other similar murders that occurred around the same time as Hammack's, hoping for closure for the families of the other victims.

The investigation into Hammack's death initially went cold in 1996, but a breakthrough occurred in 2019 when DNA samples led authorities to Artman, whose criminal history included a 1980 rape conviction. He had been released from prison in 1992.

In August 2022, Artman was apprehended in Mississippi, leading to his trial and subsequent sentencing. Prosecutors highlighted Artman's disturbing journal entries during the trial, which depicted his twisted justifications for his actions, painting him as a self-proclaimed judge and executioner.

In a separate case, Artman is also accused of the murder of 24-year-old Dusty Shuck, whose body was found dumped on the side of an interstate in Maryland in 2006. Following his prison booking, Artman will be transferred to Maryland to face trial for Shuck's murder.

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