MINNEAPOLIS — An Oakdale man will serve 15 years in prison for strangling his girlfriend last year.

Thirty-eight-year-old Toby Nicholas Clarke was sentenced Tuesday for the murder of 36-year-old Krista Ambers in her Brooklyn Park home. Clarke pleaded guilty in August to unintentional second-degree murder.

In court, Clarke apologized to Ambers’ family and his own.

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said Clarke had a history of domestic abuse charges and an order for protection filed against him.

According to the criminal complaint, Clarke called 911 early on Aug. 5, 2015, to report that his girlfriend was unconscious. The medical examiner determined she was strangled.

The complaint said Clarke claimed he choked her while they were having rough sex but Ambers’ friends and family told police he was repeatedly abusive to her.