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"A New Hampshire man has been sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison for beating his wife to death with a flashlight when he arrived home to find she had strangled their son and tried to kill their daughter.      Christopher Smeltzer, 38, admitted he killed his wife, Mara Pappalardo, at their Auburn home last November.      He said he \"lost his marbles\" when he saw 4-year-old Mason dead with a ribbon around his neck and 7-year-old daughter Mercey's cold body dangling off a bed. Mercey survived.      Smeltzer was first charged with second-degree murder for the November 2010 killing. Prosecutors downgraded that to manslaughter.The judge agreed to suspend five years of Smeltzer's sentence if he completes an anger management course, earns a college degree and demonstrates good behavior in prison.Smelzter made an emotional statement Friday expressing responsibility and sorrow for killing his wife. He admitted using cocaine before coming home that night.Smeltzer\u0092s statement followed emotional victim impact statements from Pappalardo's relatives, blasting Smeltzer for not doing enough to help her earlier and then taking the law into his own hands.Pappalardo had been hospitalized for mental illness, and prosecutors said she was obsessed with death.A tape recording of the couple's now 8-year-old daughter was played in court.  The girl told the judge, \"I love my daddy, but please keep me safe.\"The defense had asked for a 7 1/2- to 20-year sentence, but the judge went with the maximum sentence requested by the state. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.wmur.com/article/man-sentenced-for-killing-wife-after-she-strangled-son/5170906>