Life Sentence Handed Down In Hack Attack Murder

AMARILLO, Texas (AP) — An Amarillo man has pleaded guilty to charges that he used a machete last year to hack a man to death and severely injure a former girlfriend.

Thirty-four-year-old Joseph Keith Hayes was sentenced to life in prison following his plea Wednesday to murder and a related charge of aggravated assault.

The Amarillo Globe-News reports (http://bit.ly/1DCax6w ) Hayes was filled with jealousy in February 2014 when he used a spare key to gain entry to his former girlfriend's apartment. He attacked both the woman and her new boyfriend.

Killed in the attack was Nathaniel Wayne Miller. The woman suffered extensive injuries to her legs, feet and hands.

Randall County prosecutor James Farren says the attack was "as brutal as anything I've ever seen."