GREENSBORO, Ala. (AP) — A Greensboro man has been sentenced to life in prison for the sexual torture and death of his common-law wife.

Hale County Circuit Judge Jack Meigs imposed the sentence Tuesday on 43-year-old Joseph Allen Renney. He was convicted in September of manslaughter, sexual torture and first-degree sexual abuse.

District Attorney Michael Jackson says Renney sexually assaulted his wife, Anita Hutto, with a shovel handle or broom handle and waited a couple of days to take her to the hospital. She developed an infection and died. Jackson calls it one of the worst cases of domestic violence he has ever seen.