PLEASANT HILL, Iowa (AP) — A Pleasant Hill man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing his girlfriend’s father. The Des Moines Register reports that 27-year-old Ricky St. John was sentenced Friday. In a deal with prosecutors, he pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the November death of 46-year-old Timothy Neal. St. John had been charged with first-degree murder in the case.

Multiple witnesses told police they saw St. John strangle Neal on the ground until Neal stopped struggling. The witnesses say they then saw St. John kick Neal in the head. Neal was later pronounced dead at Iowa Lutheran Hospital.