An Oceanside man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for setting the fire that killed his wife.
Gertrude Hollis, 74, tried to crawl into a bathtub and turn on the water as a means of escaping a mobile home fire in February 2015.
Her husband, Andrew Hollis, set the fire in the couple's home at the Lamplighter Mobile Home Park on North River Road.
When Oceanside firefighters arrived, they found Gertrude Hollis in the back bathroom with the water running.
Outside the home, firefighters found Andrew suffering from smoke inhalation and serious burns to his face and upper body.
Officials told NBC 7 the next day that he had begged emergency crews to rescue his wife and stepson.
The stepson was found hours later unharmed.
Andrew Hollis was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without parole for the murder of his wife.
Daughter Vera Cunningham described her mother as the glue that held the family together.
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She wore her mother's watch and scarf to the sentencing hearing. When Hollis spoke, he offered no remorse, she said.
“That he took our mother’s life the way that he did,” Cunningham said. “He had every opportunity to save our mom and he didn't.”
The Oceanside Fire and Police departments worked with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to solve the suspicious fire, which burned the home Andrew and Gertrude had lived in for more than 30 years, according to neighbors.
