FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) - A Flagstaff man has been sentenced to 18 years behind bars in the death of his estranged girlfriend.
Vaughn Seumptewa had pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Nicole Joe on Christmas Eve.
The Arizona Daily Sun reports he was sentenced Wednesday in Coconino County Superior Court.
Seumptewa expressed remorse in court, saying he unnecessarily took a life.
Police say Seumptewa threw Joe to the ground, hit her multiple times and left her unconscious in the cold after she asked to be let in to a Flagstaff apartment. He had been drinking at the time.
Joe died before police arrived.
Joe's friends and family described her as a kind woman who loved cooking. She had two children.
