Sword Slayer Sentenced to Life: Christopher Tomlinson Confessed to Killing Girlfriend's Stepfather

STUART, Fla. (CBS/AP) Florida man Christopher Tomlinson was sentenced to life in prison for killing his girlfriend's stepfather with a sword,  after trying unsuccessfully to poison him to death.

A Martin County judge sentenced the 27-year-old killer on Thursday after a jury convicted him of first-degree murder, attempted murder and poisoning.

Authorities say Tomlinson confessed to killing Gerald Lee Jensen in April 2008.

Jensen's body was found in a Palm Beach County landfill four days later.

Tomlinson's girlfriend, Nicole Thornhill, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder charges last year, and is expected to be sentenced next month.

Tomlinson's attorney had argued the killing was self-defense.

Tomlinson and Thornhill had lived with her parents when Jensen was killed.