A woman who killed her partner with the stiletto heel of her shoe was sentenced to life, Friday.

Ana Trujillo, 45, was found guilty of killing Stefan Andersson, a 59-year-old professor at University of Houston. She hit him with the heel on his face around 25 times after they had an argument at his house in Houston.

It took less than two hours for the jury to arrive at the sentence. "I didn't mean to kill him," Trujillo told Judge Brock Thomas after the sentence was announced.  She said that she hit Andersson in self defense.

But the prosecution said that they had evidence that proved the killing was not an act of defense. "She hit him 25 times in the head. That is a hard thing to overcome," said prosecutor John Jordan, reports the Associated Press.

Different witnesses testified that Trujillo became violent after drinking. During the hearing Trujillo told the jurors she had problems expressing herself.

In almost seven hours of testimony, Trujillo testified that she did not realise how badly Andersson was hurt and only understood about his condition after her hands were full of blood.

Andersson's family welcomed the decision. Ylva Olofsson, his niece said, "My uncle was a great man. He was kind. He didn't deserve what happened to him. We are happy that justice is served."

According to Sandra Guerra Thompson, director of the Criminal Justice Institute at the University of Houston Law Center, life sentences are rarely given to women in Texas. "Women who commit violent homicides are a very small percentage of the criminal justice system and the statutory maximum comes down significantly if it's found to be a crime of passion," Thompson said, reports Reuters.

Trujillo is allowed to appeal. The sentence will not change until the conviction is overturned.