Man Sentenced In Butcher Knife Slaying of Girlfriend

SOUTH ST. PAUL (AP) -- A South St. Paul man who twice was convicted of stabbing his girlfriend to death with a butcher knife has been sentenced to nearly three decades in prison.

62-year-old Thomas Luby was sentenced Monday to 28 years and 10 months behind bars for the August 2015 slaying of 45-year-old Kelly Anderson, also of South St. Paul.

A Dakota County jury first convicted Luby of first-degree and second-degree murder in April 2016, and he was sentenced to life in prison. But the state Supreme Court later ruled he had an ineffective defense and ordered the case retried. Luby was convicted of second-degree murder in the second trial.

Authorities say Anderson was stabbed repeatedly in the head, neck and body. Luby claimed he was defending himself during a fight.