Man gets 40 years for dismembering girlfriend with chain saw

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – A man has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for dismembering his girlfriend with a chain saw and dumping her body parts in bags and boxes behind a Target store in Alabama.

William Lewis Paton was convicted of corpse abuse after charges of murder were dropped for lack of evidence. According to a report in AL.com/The Birmingham News, the cause of her death in 2015 couldn’t be determined.

Payton denies killing or dismembering 27-year-old Tonya Lynn Amerson, the mother of two of his eight children.

Prosecutor Joshua Ballinger said at Monday’s sentencing that 44-year-old Paton’s actions showed “a level of depravity you see in a horror movie.”

Payton’s mother called him “a good kid.” He still faces trial on abuse and sodomy charges involving a child younger than 12.

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Information from: The Birmingham News, http://www.al.com/birminghamnews