Man Pleads Guilty to Fatally Stabbing His Stepmom

A Lawrence, Massachusetts, man has pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing his stepmother in her Lowell apartment.

The Sun reports that 49-year-old Jorge Aponte had faced a first-degree murder charge in the March 2013 death of 60-year-old Angela Aponte, but pleaded guilty Tuesday to second-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years.

Angela Aponte's body was discovered in her apartment by firefighters responding to smoke coming from a pot left on a stove.

An autopsy determined she suffered multiple stab wounds to the neck, a broken rib and bruising on her neck consistent with choking.

Jorge Aponte had tried to sell a television and sold a cellphone belonging to his stepmother.

His attorney says her client struggled with substance abuse.