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Man caught with dying girlfriend’s blood on his hands sentenced to life

Posted at 11:17 AM, Jul 31, 2019
and last updated 2019-07-31 13:17:43-04

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    Des Moines, IA (KCCI) — A Des Moines man found with his dying girlfriend’s blood on his hands will be sentenced to life in prison.

Nickolas Pettinger, 33, was convicted earlier this year of first-degree murder.

Prosecutors say Pettinger choked and used a 20-pound weight to batter 19-year-old Katelynn “Kat” Gould on Dec. 12, 2016, in a Des Moines garage.

Prosecutors say Gould’s blood was on Pettinger’s hands and clothes when he was taken into custody after hiding in a nearby garage for more than 90 minutes.

Prosecutor Thomas Miller told jurors Pettinger was “caught red-handed in every sense of the word.”

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