By Associated Press - Wednesday, January 2, 2019

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - A 38-year-old Wichita man who admitted beating his girlfriend to death with a shovel has been sentenced to 35 years in prison before he is eligible for parole.

Travis Becker Jr. was sentenced Wednesday for the death of 42-year-old Perla Rodriguez, who was the outreach director for the Wichita Area Sexual Assault Center.

Becker was sentenced to 25 years for first-degree murder and a consecutive sentence of 15.5 years for aggravated kidnapping.

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KAKE-TV reports officers found Rodriguez’s body in November 2017 in a northwest Wichita home. They also found a wooden handle shovel inside the bedroom, with the shovel blade covered in blood and hair.

Becker was later arrested at his sister’s home in Olathe.

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Information from: KAKE-TV.

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