HUMBLE, Texas (AP) - A Houston-area man has pleaded guilty in the death of his wife and drawn a sentence of 35 years that was criticized by the woman's family and friends.

Thirty-one-year-old Jonathan Allee of Humble struck a plea deal with prosecutors that resulted in a guilty plea Tuesday to murder.

Authorities say 28-year-old Elizabeth Ferrell suffered blunt force trauma to the head and was strangled. Her body was found by a fisherman in April 2016 in a waterway west of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Allee initially claimed he last saw his wife four days before her body was found, but he later changed his story.

Ferrell's family told investigators that she had been abused several times by her husband.

The Houston Chronicle reports that Allee's sentence angered more than a dozen of Ferrell's family and friends who were present in court.

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