Kansas Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Death of Lawson Woman

(AP)–A Kansas man was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years in federal prison for killing his girlfriend by strangling her and pushing her over a balcony on a cruise ship off the coast of Florida.

Eric Newman, 55, of Topeka, also was sentenced to five years of supervised release during a hearing in federal court in Kansas, The Kansas City Star reported.

He pleaded guilty in December to second-degree murder in the January 2018 death of 50-year-old Tamara Tucker of Lawson, Missouri.

The couple was on a Carnival cruise from Jacksonville, Florida, to the Bahamas and was staying in a cabin on the 13th deck.

Newman admitted during his plea hearing that the couple argued in their cabin.

He said he strangled Tucker then pushed her over the cabin room balcony railing to the 11th deck, killing her.

At the time, the cruise ship was about 30 nautical miles (55 kilometers) from New Smyrna Beach, Florida.