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Jackson Man Sentenced To Life In Killing Live Streamed on Facebook

Anthony Gelia
WLNS-TV Lansing (WKAR media partner)
Anthony Gelia was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Picture from WLNS-TV.

A Michigan man convicted of murder after he was accused of breaking into a home and shooting a woman while live-streaming the attack on Facebook has been sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Twenty-year-old Anthony Gelia was given the mandatory punishment Wednesday.

He was convicted in March of first-degree murder and other charges stemming from the November 2016 killing of 26-year-old Brittany Southwell.

Jurors watched a Facebook Live recording recovered from Gelia's cell phone showing him kicking in a door and opening fire.

Gelia says he didn't mean to hurt anyone.

But he also told a judge, "I deserve to do this time."

Gelia's lawyer suggested at trial that involuntary manslaughter was a more appropriate charge.

He says Gelia didn't know Southwell was behind the door.

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