CARSLISLE, Pa.—A central Pennsylvania man has pleaded guilty in the strangulation death of his fiancée three days after Christmas in 2010 in the basement of their home.

Twenty-eight-year-old Gary Cartwright pleaded guilty Tuesday in Cumberland County to third-degree murder in the death of 27-year-old Nicole Berman in Silver Spring.

The (Harrisburg) Patriot-News ( http://bit.ly/TenxsL) says the defendant's attorney said he strangled the victim during a fight because "he couldn't stop."

Public defender Linda Hollinger said she expects her client to get a 17- to 40-year term when he is sentenced Aug. 20.

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Information from: The Patriot-News, http://www.pennlive.com/patriotnews