ITHACA, N.Y. (AP) - A 41-year-old Tompkins County man has admitted that he stabbed his estranged wife's boyfriend to death during a domestic dispute.
The
Ithaca Journal reports that Dana Houghtling pleaded guilty Monday to first-degree manslaughter in a deal with prosecutors who agreed to drop a murder charge.
Houghtling told a Tompkins County judge he killed 31-year-old Jeff West in a rage last April because he believed West and his wife had taken his daughter from his Groton home without permission.
Prosecutors said they agreed to a deal that will send Houghtling to prison for five to 25 years because of evidence he acted under extreme emotional disturbance.
Sentencing is set for March 15.
