Guilty verdict for Gulfport man who said he talked to devil about killing his mother
GULFPORT -- Ryan Abeyta received a life prison term Wednesday for his mother's murder after testifying he had injected himself with cocaine and talked to the devil about killing her before he did it.
Circuit Judge Larry Bourgeois didn't allow the jury to consider manslaughter for the strangling death of Pamela Marlene Santiago, whose remains were found in woods at Biloxi River Estates in Gulfport on Oct. 11, 2011.
Santiago was 56 and lived on Harmony Circle in Orange Grove. She was beaten and choked in her home office, where she was taking online courses, after confronting her son about her missing debit card.
A Harrison County jury heard two days of testimony, including a videotaped confession, and found Abeyta guilty after 35 minutes of deliberation.
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