An East Texas man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for the 2010 death of his girlfriend whose burned remains were found in a trash pile.
A judge in Athens accepted the plea deal from Avery Lee Denton.
Denton originally was charged with murder in the death of Sandra Anderson. A relative reported Anderson missing when she didn't show up at work.
Deputies who interviewed Denton later discovered human remains amid a burned pile of logs and tires near Brownsboro.
Denton pleaded guilty to manslaughter and to tampering with a human corpse and was sentenced Friday. He described the incident as an apparent fight and the woman's unintentional death.
Experts say the condition of the remains made it difficult to determine a cause of death.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
