Fresno man convicted of killing his grandmother seven years ago finally sentenced to prison

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The Fresno man convicted of killing his grandmother seven years ago was finally sentenced Friday.

The judge handed Travis Fendley 15 years to life after he confessed to strangling Joyce Frazier in her East Central Fresno Home back in 2012.

According to investigators, Fendley killed the 78-year-old just moments after he walked out of Fresno County jail.

The changes to Fendley's appearance since then are noticeable as the now 29-year-old will continue to spend his foreseeable future inside the walls of a state penitentiary

"He knew all along this was going to happen. But hearing it is a different thing," said defense attorney Jane Boulger.

Fendley has struggled with life's challenges since he was a child.

Boulger believes Fendley will be better served if he's able to serve his sentence at a medical facility.

Diagnosed with schizophrenia, Fendley had been in and out of jail in the months leading up to the 2012 killing of his grandmother.

"For him to have done that he was in a psychotic state but the legal definition of not guilty by reason of insanity is very narrow and so it didn't apply to this case," said Boulger.

Moments after the judge sentenced him to 15 years to life, Fendley collapsed into his seat after saying his knee buckled.

The man convicted of second-degree murder will be eligible for parole in eight years.

"There's all these things that happened way, way before someone like Travis commits an act like this. And he has to live with that. He loved his grandmother," said Boulger.