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Man gets 52-year sentence for beheading wife

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WACO, Texas — A Texas man was sentenced to 52 years in prison Friday in the decapitation death of his wife, the Waco Herald-Tribune reported.

Davie Dauzat, 24, pleaded guilty to murder in Waco's 54th State District Court. In August, a judge rejected a proposed plea agreement that would have given Dauzat a 50-year sentence for killing his wife, Natasha Dauzat, 21, on Aug. 25, 2016.

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Authorities said Natasha Dauzat was stabbed “at least 43 times” with a knife at the couple’s home in Bellmead, a town just northeast of Waco.

Dauzat told investigators he killed his wife with a knife while their 1-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter were home.

“It is certainly a tragedy for everybody involved in the situation and I think it highlights the dangers that drugs play in our society,” Dauzat’s defense attorney, Joseph Marcee, told the Herald-Tribune. “I certainly think that factored into everything and I think it is a tragedy.

“My client took responsibility for his actions today and that is something he wanted to do.”

Dauzat must spend at least 26 years in prison before he can seek parole.

In a victim-impact statement from the victim’s mother, Patricia Tagliarino, she said Dauzat deserved to die a slow, painful death like her daughter did, the Herald-Tribune reported.

She said she prays every day for him to die.