SACRAMENTO, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- A California man will get life in prison after pleading no contest to killing two people with a meat cleaver in 2005.
Lalesh Kumar entered the plea in Sacramento Tuesday, The Sacramento Bee reported.
The district attorney had sought the death penalty for Kumar, 37, who killed Virginia Pulido, 33, and her 3-year-old son, Ramiro, in a deranged rampage.
Superior Court Judge Russell Hom accepted the pleas and said Kumar will face two consecutive life terms without parole when sentenced Jan. 28.
"This is a fair resolution for everyone," said Linda Parisi, one of Kumar's lawyers. "Mr. Kumar has a significant mental health history and an insignificant criminal history."
Deputy District Attorney Dawn Bladet pointed to "the strong possibility of a hung jury at the penalty phase at trial or the risk of Kumar being found not guilty by reason of insanity."
Bladet told Hom the victims' family did not oppose the deal, and the boy's father had expressed a desire not to seek the death penalty.
Xavier Vasquez said his uncle had asked for life without parole because "no one deserves to die."
Kumar also pleaded no contest to assaulting the two policemen who subdued him.
