Jury finds Tacoma man guilty of killing 77-year-old mother

TACOMA, Wash. — Jurors have found a Tacoma man guilty of second-degree murder for the death of his 77-year-old mother, who was attacked in the face with a broken whiskey bottle and strangled in the apartment they shared.

The jury returned the verdict against 50-year-old Sebastian Levy-Aldrete Thursday, according to the Pierce County Prosecutor's Office.

He said at trial that an intruder killed his mother, Maria Aldrete-Levy, on Oct. 16, 2017. The jury also deliberated the charge of first-degree murder but was unable to reach a verdict.

Pierce County prosecutors argued there were no signs of a break-in and that Levy-Aldrete did it after spending half of $20,000 his mother had given him to hold as a deposit for a house they planned to buy.

Prosecutors say Levy-Aldrete's two sons were apparently sleeping in a room nearby during the slaying.

He is scheduled to be sentenced next month.