Teen charged in ex-girlfriend's death gets life in prison

AUGUSTA - A teenager who beat his ex-girlfriend to death because he mistakenly thought she was pregnant and did not want her to have a baby was sentenced Monday to life in prison. <br> <br> Seventeen-year-old Matthew Wiedeman was sentenced after abruptly pleading guilty to murdering 16-year-old Stephanie Burnett on April 22. His trial was scheduled to start today. <br> <br> Prosecutor Danny Craig says Wiedeman will have to serve at least 16 years before being eligible for parole. <br> <br> Wiedeman has said he thought Burnett was pregnant. An autopsy later revealed she was not. <br> <br> Prosecutors say Wiedeman and 17-year-old Raymond Soto lured Burnett out of her house and killed her. Prosecutors say Burnett followed Soto to a parking lot, where Wiedeman attacked her from behind with a barbell. Police say Soto used a long-bladed knife during the attack. <br> <br> Wiedeman and Soto were high school dropouts who at one point lived together. Soto also was charged with murder and possession of a knife during the commission of a crime. Craig says his trial is set to begin the week of January 13.

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