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A Phoenix man who claims he learned to kill while a member of the Cuban military was sentenced in Maricopa County Superior Court today to 22 years in prison for fatally snapping his girlfriend’s neck during an argument.
Hermenegildo Cardenes Morffah pleaded guilty in April to second-degree murder for the September 2010 killing of his then-girlfriend, 38-year-old Jacqui Rae Dodge.
Cardenes Morffah turned himself in to police after the fight with Dodge. He told cops her body was in the home the two shared in the 5700 block of North 11th Way, near Montebello Avenue.
At the time, Cardenes Morffah told police that the two began fighting after he suspected her of cheating on him. Things turned violent, and he snapped her neck.
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A kickboxing instructor and personal trainer, Cardenes Morffah told police he served in the Cuban military for five years and killed people in the course of military action.
He told police he’d considered suicide before turning himself in, and acknowledged that Dodge’s alleged “actions did not justify murder.” He said knew he was going to jail for the rest of his life.
