The State Senate passed tougher laws for carjackers, less than two weeks after a woman was murdered and her daughter raped in the Town of Clay.

Lori Bresnahan, 47, and her ten year-old daughter were carjacked by David Renz, 29, after leaving a gymnastics class on March 14. Bresnahan was stabbed multiple times and died from her wounds. Her daughter was able to escape the car and was helped by a passing motorist.

The new law increases penalties for anyone who carjacks a vehicle with a child younger than 16 inside, with sentences of up to 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison.

Senator Dean Skelos says, "Thefts of this nature not only traumatize children but place them at great risk of being physically harmed."

The bill has been sent to the Assembly.

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