VISTA, Calif. - A man who stabbed his housemate to death in Carlsbad in a dispute over loud music was sentenced Thursday to 16 years to life in state prison.
David Diaz, 33, pleaded guilty last month to second-degree murder for the Aug. 7, 2014 death of 23-year-old Asher Freeman.
Freeman -- who rented a room from Diaz's family -- was stabbed several times in the head and neck.
A neighbor testified at an earlier hearing that she heard a man's voice -- not Diaz -- demanding that the volume be turned down on music playing in the backyard. Later that evening, the neighbor said she saw Diaz dancing around a fire in a bucket and making goat noises.
Defense attorney Matt Roberts told a judge that Diaz was diagnosed with schizophrenia when he was 18 years old.
Diaz -- who called 911 after he stabbed Freeman -- initially told police the victim had been shot by two men in a drug deal gone bad and told officers one of the intruders swung a knife at him before fleeing.
Diaz originally pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity before admitting guilt.
