PORTLAND, Maine - A Falmouth, Maine man who pleaded guilty to murder for killing his mother will serve 27 years in prison as part of a plea agreement.
The Portland Press Herald reports 48-year-old Andrew Leighton entered his plea on Monday. He had been scheduled to stand trial on Jan. 12 for the fatal shooting of Shirley Leighton but decided to plead guilty instead.
Leighton's attorney, Robert LeBrasseur, says Leighton made the decision "after reviewing all of the evidence.'' He shot his mother just before she and his father, Thomas Leighton, were to have him committed for mental health treatment. Thomas Leighton says Leighton's mother "died trying to get him help.''