A South Dakota man admitted to hitting a woman in the head with a can; she later died. However, his defense argued that the woman's poor health and alcoholism were major factors in her death.

In October, 44-year-old Pedro Simental pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in connection with a physical confrontation with 40-year-old Edleigha Little in November 2023. Authorities said Little died after Simental struck her in the head with a can of beans.

Simental’s attorney argued that these conditions made her more vulnerable to the 'single, reckless blow' to the head that ultimately caused her death.

On Monday, Seventh Circuit Judge Joshua Hendrickson sentenced Simental to 15 years in prison. Both the prosecution and the defense recommended a 15-year prison sentence.

What's the background?

Simental and Little got into a physical altercation on the evening of Nov. 8.

KELO-TV reported that Simental admitted to law enforcement investigators that he "may have struck the victim in the left side of her head with a can."

When police arrived at the crime scene, they found Little unconscious and suffering multiple bruises on her head, neck, and face. She was rushed to the hospital. However, Little succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead a few hours later.

According to KOTA-TV, the defense noted Little’s blood alcohol content was .474% at the time of her death.

The Pennington County State’s Attorney noted in a statement that Hendrickson acknowledged the case's numerous challenges, especially the victim's poor health before the attack.

During the trial, Simental’s lawyer highlighted several of the victim's pre-existing health conditions, including that Little was a “severe alcoholic,” and her years of excessive drinking could have caused the hematoma, according to KOTA-TV.

Defense Attorney Conor Duffy cited statements from two medical examiners that claimed severe alcoholism triggered the hematoma after the blow to the head. Medical examiners noted that Little sustained "minimal external signs of trauma."

A state doctor claimed that her hematoma was "spontaneous."

Simental’s attorney argued that these conditions made her more vulnerable to the “single, reckless blow” to the head that ultimately caused her death.

However, Senior Deputy State Attorney Roxanne Hammond expressed concern over Simental’s lack of accountability.

During the investigation, Simental allegedly stated that he "takes little to no responsibility for his role in her death."

However, Simental stressed in court that he does take responsibility for his actions that led to Little's death.

Little's niece told the court that her aunt was a caring, thoughtful person and accused Simental of regularly abusing the victim. The niece urged Judge Hendrickson to impose a lengthy sentence so Simental could not "do this to another woman and her family."

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