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FARMINGTON — A man has been sentenced to prison to stabbing another man to death in an argument at the Sunset home of a woman they both had children with.
Michael Scott Ennis, 35, was sentenced Friday to one to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty last month to a reduced charge of criminal homicide by assault, a third-degree felony, as part of a plea deal.
Ennis was originally charged with murder, a first-degree felony, in the death of Tyler Eastabrook, 31. The homicide was the first the city of Sunset had seen in years, according to police.
In plea documents, Ennis said he had gone to the home where the mother of his children lived, 2300 N. 250 West, on Sept 15, 2015. Eastabrook, who also had children with the woman, followed Ennis inside.
Eastabrook and another man then followed Ennis as he left the apartment, according to the plea, so Ennis grabbed a knife from a box near the door. When Eastabrook initiated some kind of physical contact with Ennis, Ennis spun around and stabbed the other man once in the chest, killing him, court documents state.
Leslie Liptrap, who has a child with Ennis and another with Eastabrook, said at the time that tension surfaced when Ennis came to the home and resisted leaving. When he did leave, Eastabrook followed him out, she said.
Related:
Police identify victim stabbed to death in Sunset
Police have identified the name of a man stabbed to death overnight Tuesday in Sunset.Liptrap said she and Ennis had separated about a year earlier, and Eastabrook moved in with her to be with his daughter a short time before he was killed.
No children were home when the stabbing occurred, police said.
Ennis allegedly fled the fourplex before police arrived but was arrested without incident after officers made contact with him.
Ennis was also given credit Friday for 545 days he has served since his arrest and was ordered to pay $2,200 in restitution. His prison sentence will run concurrent to an unrelated case, in which Ennis admitted burglarizing a vehicle and unlawfully obtaining or using a financial card.
