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West Mich. Man Gets Life For Landlady's Fire Death

HOLLAND TOWNSHIP (AP) - A West Michigan judge has sentenced a man to life in prison without parole for setting his 53-year-old landlady on fire after she complained about his loud music.

Davanh Phouangphet's was convicted of first-degree murder May 17 in Ottawa County Circuit Court. Judge Jon Hulsing gave him the mandatory sentence Tuesday.

Before receiving the sentence, the convict told the judge he set the room but not his landlady on fire. Police say Phouangphet poured an accelerant on Le and lit it.

Phanh Kim Le died in January 2012 from burns she sustained at the house in Holland Township, west of Grand Rapids.

Thong Phouangphet has said his 32-year-old brother and Le argued, and the landlady told him to move his music elsewhere in the house or be evicted.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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