Man sentenced to 40 years to life for killing mother after argument over video game volume

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire man has been sentenced to 40 years to life in prison for fatally stabbing his mother after the two had argued about the volume on the video games he was playing.

Thomas Humphrey, 47, was sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty to second-degree murder and arson in the November death of Linda Tufts, 70, inside their Goffstown home.

“The brutality of this crime simply makes it too dangerous not to impose a very lengthy state prison sentence,” Judge William Delker said.

A prosecutor said Humphrey, who lived in the basement, stabbed Tufts multiple times and then lit her body on fire. The prosecutor said the two had recently argued about how loud he was playing video games on the PlayStation she had just given him for his birthday, WMUR-TV reported.

Police said they found Humphrey at the bottom of the basement stairs with self-inflicted wounds, holding a knife.

The Associated Press sent an email Wednesday to Humphrey’s lawyer seeking comment on his behalf. Humphrey had previously pleaded not guilty to the charges.