WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — A Worcester man has been sentenced to at least 25 years in prison for shooting a co-worker and leaving her body in a mall parking lot.

Vu Van Ngo was sentenced Friday to 19 years after pleading guilty to manslaughter and a consecutive six- to seven-year sentence for misleading police.

Ngo was originally charged with murder but under a deal pleaded to the lesser charge.

Prosecutors say the 30-year-old Ngo killed 46-year-old Nhung Nguyen in February 2014. Nguyen, a mother of three, was found with a gunshot wound to the head in a parking lot at the Auburn Mall.

The two used to carpool to work together and prosecutors say the shooting occurred in Ngo’s car.

When initially questioned by police, Ngo pointed the finger at someone else.

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