KITTANNING — A Pennsylvania inmate convicted of escaping from jail and killing an acquaintance while on the run has been sentenced to life in prison.

Robert Crissman Jr., 39, was given the mandatory life sentence Tuesday. He was convicted last month of first- and second-degree murder in the death of 55-year-old Tammy Long.

He angered Long’s family by saying he “liked her” and had “nothing to do with” strangling her after escaping from the county jail on July 30.