Hollywood Hills Man Sentenced to 21-Year Prison Term for Girlfriend's Slaying

A former New York attorney who fatally shot his girlfriend at his Hollywood Hills home was sentenced Friday to 21 years in state prison.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Stephen Marcus denied the defense's request to reduce David Mahler's sentence from the 21-year term called for in his plea agreement with the prosecution, along with a request to change his plea from guilty to no contest.

Mahler pleaded guilty March 2 to voluntary manslaughter for the May 27, 2007, shooting death of Kristin Baldwin, whose body was discovered the next month in the desert near Barstow by good Samaritans who stopped to help a stranded motorist.

He was initially convicted in September 2009 of second-degree murder and sentenced a month later to 40 years to life in prison. But a state appellate court panel cited an improper jury instruction in reversing his murder conviction last September.

Just before being re-sentenced, Mahler said, "A man really shouldn't be defined by his worst moment in his life." He told the judge that he lives with remorse every day and wants to make a "good contribution to society."

The murder charge was dismissed as a result of his plea.

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