Anderson Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Beating Death

ANDERSON, S.C. (AP) – An Anderson man has been sentenced to a dozen years in prison for beating a man to death and leaving him to choke on his own dentures.

Local media outlets report that 30-year-old Carson Nance was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty to manslaughter. He was originally charged with murder.

Authorities say Nance admitted beating 61-year-old Artis Leon Valentine of Anderson to death in October 2014. The men had gotten into a fight, and police say Nance punched and kicked Valentine repeatedly before driving away in Valentine’s car.

A forensic pathologist says Valentine would have survived the beating if the dentures had not blocked his airway.