Man gets 20-60 years for killing mentally ill mom

PONTIAC (AP) -- A judge has sentenced a 22-year-old man to 20 to 60 years in prison for beating and stabbing his 51-year-old mentally ill mother to death at their suburban Detroit home. Oakland County Circuit Judge Leo Bowman in Pontiac sentenced Jeffrey Pyne on Tuesday on a second-degree murder conviction. Fifty-one-year-old Ruth Pyne was found dead May 27, 2011, inside the garage of the home in Highland Township, about 30 miles northwest of Detroit. Jeffrey Pyne was charged with first-degree murder, but jurors convicted him of the lesser crime of second-degree murder. Prosecutors say he killed his mother because he was tired of dealing with her mental illness and abuse. Before the sentencing, Pyne told the judge he's innocent and asked for leniency. Published: Thu, Jan 31, 2013