HARRISON COUNTY, Miss.- Beating his wife to death with his bare hands landed 36-year-old Ryan Jacob Cates 28 years behind bars. He was supposed to go to trial next week, but changed his plea to guilty Friday.
District Attorney Joel Smith told WLOX, Cates was arrested on June 2, 2011, for severely beating his wife, Laura Cates. Police said Cates drove Laura to the Biloxi Regional Medical Center where she later died from her injuries.
Smith said Cates admitted he had been drinking when he began to fight with his wife and lost his temper.
Witnesses and his children told police they saw him go into the trailer with Laura and heard loud thumps and screams while they were outside.
Cates was sentenced to serve 28 years day-to-day without parole, followed by five years of probation.
