Man gets life sentence in slaying of girlfriend and fetus

This post has been corrected. See the note at the bottom for details.

A man who admitted to strangling his pregnant girlfriend, killing her and her 4-month-old fetus, was sentenced Wednesday to 25 years to life in state prison.

Michael LaBrunda pleaded guilty to both first-degree murder for killing 21-year-old Alisha Johnson of Westminster on Oct. 10, 2007, and second-degree murder for killing the fetus, Los Angeles County prosecutors said.

In a sentencing hearing that lasted more than two hours, more than 20 people addressed a Van Nuys judge, giving victim-impact statements.

Prosecutors argued LaBrunda choked Chapman to death because he she allegedly disrespected him during an argument while they were sitting in a car. He then dumped the body behind a residence in the 8100 block of Vanscoy Avenue in North Hollywood.

LaBrunda eventually was detained by the LAPD a short distance from where the body was dumped.

For the record, 7:06 p.m., March 19: A previous version of this post identified the victim as Alisha Chapman.

-- Andrew Blankstein
twitter.com/anblanx