TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - An Alabama man who pleaded guilty to killing his girlfriend by setting her afire will serve life in prison.

The Tuscaloosa News reports that 51-year-old Clayton Benjamin Fleming avoided a possible death sentence by pleading guilty to murder on Wednesday.

Fleming admitted killing Catherine Ann Provo in the apartment they shared in 2009.

Authorities say Fleming believed Provo was cheating on him.

Witnesses say the two had been arguing when the man went to a store and returned with a lighter and gasoline in a milk jug.

Provo suffered burns over more than 70 percent of her body and died a week later in a hospital. She implicated Fleming before losing consciousness.

Fleming has been in jail since the killing.