R.I. man sentenced to life in prison for 2020 murder of his girlfriend

PROVIDENCE – A Pawtucket, R.I., man was sentenced to life in prison after a jury found him guilty earlier this year of murdering his girlfriend, whom he strangled to death in his home in 2020.

Victor Colebut, 46, was sentenced Wednesday for the death of 30-year-old Kristine Ohler, by Providence County Superior Court Judge Joseph A. Montalbano. Colebut was also ordered to enroll in a batterer’s intervention program and relinquish all firearms, according to the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office.

Following a five-day trial in February, a jury found Colebut guilty of one count of domestic second-degree murder; one count of domestic assault, third offense; and one count of domestic criminal violation of a no contact order, third offense, prosecutors said.

“Perpetrators of domestic abuse seek to exert control over their victims, and will go to extreme measures to keep it,” Attorney General Peter Neronha said in a statement. “All too often, this violent behavior escalates and ends with victims losing their lives, as was the case here. While nothing can bring Kristine back to her family, I hope this life sentence gives them some sense of peace knowing that justice was served.”

According to prosecutors, Ohler was found unresponsive in Colebut’s Pawtucket home after authorities responded to a 911 call for a medical emergency there in the early morning of Feb. 17, 2020.

Ohler had visible injuries to her face, and officers began CPR on her at the residence before she was brought to Miriam Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead, officials said.

“Officers detained the defendant at the scene,” prosecutors said. “He later admitted that he argued with Kristine while intoxicated. Neighbors also reported hearing arguing coming from the defendant’s residence earlier in the night.”

The incident was a violation of a 2020 “no contact order” between Colebut and Ohler that was issued after “an incident of physical violence,” prosecutors said.

“Domestic violence gravely impacts our community, and I am grateful to see this perpetrator be held accountable for his actions,” Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves said in a statement.