A Puna man was sentenced yesterday on the Big Island to life in prison with the possibility of parole for killing his former girlfriend last November.

Circuit Judge Glenn S. Hara sentenced Jeffrey B. Santos Jr., 24, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for killing Daysha Iwalani Aiona Aka, to a minimum 15 years in prison. Santos was also sentenced to 20 years in prison for use of a firearm in commission of a felony to run concurrently with the murder sentence.

The Hawai'i Paroling Authority will set the minimum sentence Santos must serve before he is eligible for parole.

Donna Weber, the victim's mother, said that when she heard Santos apologize in court to Aka's family, "my mind went blank."

"Maybe not yet but in time I can forgive him," Weber said. "The hurt is still there but we are going to move on."

Weber's parents are caring for Aka's 3-year-old son, who was present when Santos shot Aka.

Aka had ended a six-year relationship with Santos and moved out of their 'Ainaloa Estates home in August 2006. Aka, who was 21, was shot once in the head. Her body was placed in her car and the car was set on fire in a Pana'ewa rain forest.

Santos led police to the burned car.