BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- A man who escaped murder charges was sentenced Tuesday to seven years in prison for the burning death of his girlfriend.

Israel Evaro pleaded guilty last month to voluntary manslaughter and inflicting injury on a spouse. In a plea bargain, prosecutors agreed to dismiss five charges: first-degree murder, aggravated mayhem, arson causing great bodily injury, inflicting corporal injury on a spouse and threatening a witness/victim of a crime.

Evaro was arrested in June 2006 for allegedly pouring gasoline on Jacqueline Ortiz and setting her on fire.

Kern County Deputy District Attorney Andrea Kohler said last month that the case was fraught with inconsistent statements by the victim. Evidence in the case could not definitively prove the manner of death, Kohler said.

While Ortiz died from her injuries, the evidence couldn't help discern if it was a murder or a suicide.

"She told police she lit herself on fire," Kohler said after the plea agreement was reached June 15.

Evaro was credited with nearly four years of his sentence from time served and good behavior.