An Oro Valley man who strangled the mother of his young daughter in August 2008 was sentenced to 22 years in prison Tuesday.
Paul Beam, 37, pleaded guilty last month to second-degree murder in the death of Lisa Berrie.
Beam was originally sentenced to life for killing Berrie, but his first-degree murder conviction was thrown out because of juror misconduct.
He elected to enter a deal with prosecutors two weeks before his new trial was to begin.
Beam called his father at about 9 p.m. Aug. 12, 2008, and asked him to come to his apartment, in the 8800 block of North Oracle Road. When Beam's father arrived, he found Berrie, 25, unresponsive and bloodied on the floor of the master bathroom. An autopsy revealed Berrie had been strangled.
Defense attorney Darlene Edminson-O'Brien told jurors that Beam acted in the heat of passion after Berrie told him she was leaving him and taking their 2-year-old daughter.
Prosecutors Nicol Green and Jesse Delaney argued that Beam had time to reflect on his actions while strangling Berrie - thus making him guilty of first-degree murder.
It was later learned that a juror failed to tell the court she herself had been a domestic-violence suspect and victim.
Beam must serve every day of his sentence.
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