By LEVI PULKKINEN
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF
A White Center man was charged with first-degree manslaughter in the death of his muscular dystrophy-stricken girlfriend has been sentenced to an eight-year prison term.
Peter E. Gullberg, 43, pleaded guilty to the charge in November, admitting to striking the woman during an argument.
Gullberg called 911 in April 2008 to report that his girlfriend, Stephanie Campeau, wasn't breathing at their 14th Avenue Southwest home. He told sheriff's deputies that he had struck her on both sides of the head with his hands during an argument, court documents say.
The couple had known each other for 12 years and lived together for the past six, according to court documents. They've dated off and on, and Gullberg was her paid caregiver.
In an interview with detectives, Gullberg said he and Campeau had been in a heated argument when he struck her.
"I finally snapped this morning," Gullberg said, according to court documents. "I did it, I did it."
He told detectives he'd lost patience with her during the past few months. After he struck her, he noticed a blood blister forming on her eye, but she asked him not to call 911 and went to sleep. When Gullberg realized she wasn't breathing and turning purple, he called police.
Campeau, 34, was taken to Harborview Medical Center, where she died the following day from brain injuries, court documents say.
Gullberg, who had no prior convictions but had been arrested before on suspicion of assaulting Campeau, was sentenced Friday by King County Superior Court Judge Michael Fox.
Levi Pulkkinen can be reached at 206-448-8348 or levipulkkinen@seattlepi.com.
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