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Man Sentenced To 26 Years To Life For Stabbing Mother To Death, Burying Her In Yard

POMONA (CBSLA.com) — A man who stabbed his mother to death and buried her body in the backyard of their rented El Monte condominium was sentenced Thursday to 26 years to life in prison.

John Taylor Huynh, 30, was convicted March 20 of first-degree murder.

Huynh had walked into the Alhambra Police Department on May 20, 2011 and told authorities he killed his mother, Hong Tu Phuong, sometime in 2001 and buried the body, Deputy District Attorney Cynthia Valenzuela said.

Investigators found the woman's body in a shallow grave and determined that Phuong was stabbed to death.

During the trial, Huynh testified he moved out of the condo a week after killing his mother. When people asked about his mother, Huynh offered several excuses, including that she had died of cancer and that she had moved to Vietnam.

(©2014 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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