A 53-year-old West Texas man must serve life in prison for using a baseball bat to fatally beat his girlfriend.
Jesus Fernando Chavez of El Paso was sentenced Wednesday after earlier pleading guilty to murder in the August 2014 death of 51-year-old Laura Lara.
Investigators say the Lara suffered severe head injuries in the attack and died several days later at an El Paso hospital.
Attorneys for Chavez had argued that the slaying was a crime of passion. Prosecutors say the evidence indicated the fatal beating was a cold, calculated attack.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
