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Sentencing Set For NorCal Couple Who Killed Mother

PLACERVILLE, Calif. (CBS/AP) -- A Northern California man and his teenage girlfriend, who once compared themselves to Romeo and Juliet, are facing prison for killing the girl's mother.

21-year-old Steven Colver could get life and 16-year-old Tylar Witt could receive 15 years when they are sentenced Friday in Placerville. Both were convicted of murder in the 2009 killing of Joanne Witt at her home in El Dorado Hills.

The two were captured days after the killing at Tanforan Shopping Center in San Bruno after their car was found in San Francisco the previous day.

Prosecutors say Colver stabbed Witt because he was afraid he'd go to jail after she reported him for statutory rape over his relationship with her then-14-year-old daughter.

After the killing, the pair compared themselves in journals to Romeo and Juliet and tried to kill themselves with rat poison. However, Witt testified against Colver.

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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