BEAUMONT, Texas — A Beaumont man who pleaded guilty to the murder of the mother of his child has been sentenced to more than 70 years in prison by a Jefferson County jury.
Jurors sentenced Bradley Robert Konning, 25, to 73 years in a Texas prison, but did not assess a fine.
He had faced five to 99 years in prison and a $10,000 fine for the April 2021 murder of 32-year-old Liz Carpio.
Jurors began deliberating just before 2:30 p.m on Thursday after closing arguments in the trial's punishment phase.
He surprised the courtroom Tuesday morning when he changed his plea to guilty minutes after his trial began in Jefferson County's 252nd District Court.
While speaking through a translator Carpio's mother broke down in tears as she described her daughter as a great woman during testimony Wednesday.
She said Carpio’s daughter is having trouble dealing with her mom's death and that the victim’s daughter did not deserve this.
Konning and Carpio had a 1-year-old child together according to Shari Pulliam of Child Protective Services. The child is now living with a relative.
Konning was arrested by Beaumont Police just after 11:30 p.m. on the same day as the murder last year. The chain of events that lead up to Carpio’s murder were described as chilling.
An employee with the district attorney's office testified on Tuesday that the day before the shooting, Carpio had attempted to file a protection from abuse order against Konning.
Authorities said Konning pulled up to Carpio’s home, jumped out of a car, punched her, stole her gun and then shot her to death. Investigators later found a fresh bouquet of flowers on the ground near Carpio's body.
An H-E-B employee said Konning had bought the flowers the day before the murder.
Carpio’s best friend testified Tuesday that she was on the phone with Carpio before she was killed. In court, Carpio's best friend said she heard her scream, “He’s here! He’s here! Bradley’s here! Call the cops.”
Shortly after that phone call, Carpio was fatally shot. Konning's sister admitted he confessed to her.
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This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.