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Florida man guilty of killing his mother sentenced to life

Yuzo Nishi
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NAPLES, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man who was found guilty of killing his mother has been sentenced to life in prison.

News outlets report 33-year-old Yuzo Nishi was sentenced Tuesday in the 2016 death of 51-year-old Maria Bertalmio. Nishi was found guilty in June of second-degree murder.

A Collier County Sheriff's Office report says Nishi called 911 and told operators he killed Bertalmio in self-defense because she was trying to kill him.

The report says when deputies arrived, Bertalmio was surrounded by a "heavy amount of blood" and wounds to her neck.

Nishi's attorney Christian White suggested a 21-year prison sentence and 10 years of probation since this was Nishi's "first significant criminal charge."

State Attorney Laura Farrell says if Nishi could kill his mother, then no one in the community was safe.