(Tribune News Service) — An Anaheim man who stabbed his girlfriend to death and then tried to persuade a police officer to shoot him was sentenced Friday to 11 years in prison.

Frank Moseley, a 34-year-old Iraq War veteran, was convicted earlier this year of voluntary manslaughter for the January 2017 killing of 25-year-old Janessa Smith in an Anaheim apartment, after an Orange County Superior Court jury rejected a more serious murder charge.

Moseley, who never denied responsibility for Smith’s violent death, apologized to her family prior to his sentencing and alluded to the PTSD that his attorney argued had helped lead to the killing.

“I just want to express how apologetic I am to anyone who is affected by the crime I committed,” Moseley said.

“I don’t want anyone who is dealing with psychological trauma to be in this situation,” he added.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Kimberly Menninger acknowledged Moseley’s PTSD and military service, but also described the killing as “brutal” and noted that Smith was likely “fighting for her life.”

“It is never going to be excusable to lose your temper, have a traumatic episode and (kill) another person,” the judge said.

Moseley told investigators that he “lost it” and “saw red” after, he said, Smith told him she was having an affair and may have been pregnant by another man. He admitted picking up a chef’s knife and stabbing Smith more than a dozen times.

After the killing, Moseley described setting small fires in the apartment in order to kill himself through smoke inhalation, but said he changed his mind after hearing the cries of the couple’s toddler.

Moseley, young child in tow, drove toward the Anaheim Police Department, according to testimony during the trial. On the way he spotted a patrol officer and crossed over the median in order cut the officer off and forced him to stop. He then exited the vehicle while holding the young child.

Body-worn camera footage showed Moseley yelling “Please shoot me!” over and over at the officer while the toddler crouched by his feet. The officer responded by telling Moseley “I’m not going to shoot you in front of your kid.”

After he was handcuffed, the footage showed a sobbing Moseley screaming “I can’t believe what I just did, I lost it, I couldn’t keep control.”

An autopsy showed no signs that Smith was pregnant. During the trial, Deputy District Attorney Christopher Alex told jurors that Smith and Moseley had broken up months earlier only to reconcile and agree to marry. But Smith had second thoughts, the prosecutor added.

“She did not even respect him, much less love him,” Smith’s mother, JoAnna Smith, said during Friday’s sentencing hearing of her daughter’s feelings toward Moseley at the time of her killing.

Moseley’s attorney, David Hammond, argued during the trial that Moseley didn’t act with premedication, a requirement for the first-degree murder conviction that was sought by the prosecution. Instead, the defense attorney argued that the slaying occurred during the heat of passion.

Much of the testimony in the trial focused on the PTSD that Moseley suffers from a traumatic childhood and a tour in Iraq. As a Navy medic, Moseley was attached to a Marine unit that went on more than 250 patrols.

After leaving the military, Moseley was going to nursing school. But doctors with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs had noted that he suffered from combat-related dreams and daily panic attacks triggered by stress.

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