GUILTY NY - Shannon Jones, 23, Cornell student, strangled, Cayuga Heights, 27 Nov 2014

A standout student at Cornell University, born and raised in Montgomery County, was murdered on Thanksgiving Day.

The Tompkins County, N.Y. Sheriff's Department arrested Benjamin Cayea, 32, for the crime. Police say he strangled his girlfriend, Shannon Jones, 23, of Potomac, during a heated argument in the couple's upstate New York apartment.

While conducting a recorded interview with detectives, Cayea said he squeezed Jones' neck with his hands until her face was blue and she had no pulse. The 32-year-old did not attempt CPR or call 911, but rather drove to a friend's home in a neighboring town, charging documents say.

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Ives said he received a phone call from Cayea between 7 and 8 p.m. Thursday. Cayea told Ives that he was parked outside his apartment and he had to come out to talk. Ives described Cayea as sobbing and hysterical... According to Ives, while sitting in the car Cayea told him, "She would not stop coming at me, she would not stop yelling. I did it, I choked her."

When police asked Ives if he knew Cayea to be violent, he said "No, in fact because of his religion I thought him incapable of violence. He is a Buddhist."

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Benjamin Cayea, the man charged with strangling his girlfriend to death on Thanksgiving Day, pleaded not guilty on Friday in Tompkins County Court.

Cayea, 32, of Cayuga Heights, is accused of murdering his girlfriend, Shannon Jones, 23, on Nov. 27 during a domestic dispute at his apartment. He is charged with second-degree murder, which is having intent and causing the death of a person. If convicted, Cayea faces a prison sentence of 15-years to life.

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A man convicted of killing his Cornell student girlfriend was sentenced to 22 years to life in prison Monday morning.

Benjamin Cayea, 33, was convicted on Oct. 22 of second-degree murder for the death of Shannon Jones.

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