Man sentenced in deadly beating of girlfriend

A man who pleaded guilty to First Degree Murder and Kidnapping will spend 25 years to life in prison.

Travis Becker was sentenced Tuesday morning.

Court documents show he beat Perla Rodriguez to death with a shovel.

He was arrested in Olathe.

Becker entered a plea agreement late last year. In addition to the sentence for murder, Becker was also sentenced to 186 months for battery and kidnapping. The two sentences will run consecutively.

"I would like to tell the family I'm sorry...that I killed her, I killed Perla. I would trade places with her in a heartbeat," said Becker.

Rodriguez was the Outreach Director for the Wichita Area Sexual Assault Center. Her family talked about what a big impact she left on the community.

"She was a strong woman who never gave up on those she loved. The only thing I find, even though she is no longer here, is the impact she left on so many people, even those she barely knew," said Perla's daughter.

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Man charged with girlfriend's deadly beating pleads guilty to murder

A man

Friday pleaded guilty to charges of first-degree murder and kidnapping.

A

in the case says Travis Becker, Jr. confessed to murdering Perla Rodriguez following his Nov. 14, 2017 arrest by Olathe police.

However, the Sedgwick County District Attorney's Office says Becker initially pleaded 'not guilty' and changed that plea Friday.

An autopsy ruled Rodriguez's cause of death as blunt force trauma to the head and "the manner of death to be homicide."

Rodriuez was the outreach director for the Wichita Area Sexual Assault Center. Former co-workers were in court Friday.

Becker's sentencing is set for January.