SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) - A Springfield man has been convicted of fatally stabbing his girlfriend hours after she celebrated her 25th birthday.
The Republican (https://bit.ly/1g57DxD ) reports that Jose Santiago was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole Thursday after a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder for killing Jessica Rojas in March 2012.
The defense did not dispute that the 32-year-old Santiago killed Rojas, but asked for a not guilty verdict because he was extremely intoxicated at the time and did not have the ability to form the intent necessary under the law for a person to be convicted of murder.
Rojas, a mother of four, was studying criminal justice in college and had just started a job she loved at the city Law Department when she was slain.
___
Information from: The Springfield (Mass.) Republican, https://www.masslive.com/news/
Please read our comment policy before commenting.