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Man pleads guilty to fatally stabbing East Lake woman with sword

 
Published Oct. 2, 2015

EAST LAKE — James Quilliams, charged with fatally stabbing his girlfriend with a 35-inch sword, was sentenced to 35 years in prison this week.

Quilliams, 42, pleaded guilty Tuesday to a second-degree murder charge.

He is convicted of stabbing his girlfriend, Teresa Compton, 48, inside her home at 4761 Stoneview Circle in January 2014. Quilliams left Pinellas, but authorities tracked his cell phone and found him three days later in a Tennessee cabin. He was arrested on a charge of first-degree murder.