Utah Man Sentenced to Prison for Strangling His Dad to Death and Stuffing Body in Freezer
A Utah man who admitted to strangling his father before hiding his body in a freezer in his trailer home has been sentenced to prison, according to multiple outlets.
Omar Carmona was sentenced to at least five years to life in prison for the June 2016 murder of his father, Marco Carmona, local station KUTV, the Daily Herald and the Salt Lake Tribune report.
In December, Carmona, 29, pleaded guilty but mentally ill to manslaughter and aggravated robbery. The court had ruled Carmona suffers from schizophrenia, the outlets report.
On the day of his father’s murder, authorities say he was living in an alternate reality.
The father-son pair had gotten into an argument because the 57-year-old wouldn’t stand guard for his son while he was taking a shower.
“It appears he had delusions that people were breaking into the home at night and assaulting him,” Deputy Utah County Attorney Randy Kennard previously told PEOPLE.
RELATED: Utah Man Allegedly Kills His Father and Hides His Body in Freezer
During the argument, Carmona’s father “put his hand on the chest of Omar and threw water in his face,” after which “Omar reached around with his arm and grabbed his father around the throat,” according to a probable cause statement previously obtained by PEOPLE.
After breaking his father’s neck to try and cover up what he had done, Carmona stuffed his father’s body into a freezer located in the trailer’s living room and stole his wallet and cellphone to buy himself a soda.
The following day, Carmona’s mother reported his father Marco missing, PEOPLE previously reported. When police questioned Carmona, he told them he had “choked out” his father for almost 20 minutes.
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Carmona’s attorney, Dustin Parmley, has argued that his client was in a “psychotic episode when he killed his father,” KUTV reports.
Carmona was originally charged with murder and desecration of a human body before accepting the plea deal, the Herald reports.
Prosecutors said the deal guarantees Carmona, who is currently stable after receiving medical treatment, would be unable to hurt anyone again, according to the paper.
“He is an individual who would be at risk if he was out in the community. That’s why we made an agreement that ensured he would be sentenced to prison,” Kennard said, the Herald reports.
Kennard called the plea a “just resolution” before adding, “But clearly, it’s a tragedy by all counts for Mr. Carmona and his family.”
Carmona also faces 15 years for the robbery charge, KUTV reports. His attorney could not be reached for comment Wednesday.