Man Pleads Guilty to Killing Girlfriend on New Year's Day in New Hartford

A man has pleaded guilty to charges including criminally negligent homicide in the death of his former girlfriend nearly 15 years ago.

Peter Sebben was accused of fatally striking 27-year-old Tanya McKay of New Hartford during a night of arguing at his home on New Year's Day, 2000.

The Republican-American reports that Sebben pleaded guilty Tuesday in Litchfield Superior Court. He is to begin serving a six-month prison sentence on Jan. 2.

Sebben has claimed that McKay had a history of harming herself and caused the fatal injuries by striking her head against the floor. He took her to an emergency room a day after she was hurt.

Sebben's attorney Hubert Santos said a trial would have come down to dueling testimony from medical experts.