Man who cut out girlfriend's lung while she was still alive sentenced to life in prison

The defendant Alexander Anthony Clever will never be able to apply for parole

The California motel where Yvette Silva was brutally murdered (Google)

A man who murdered his girlfriend after cutting out her lung while she was still alive has been sentenced to life in prison.

Alexander Anthony Clever pleaded no contest to first degree murder, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office.

The 28-year-old went to a motel in California with his girlfriend Yvette Silva and two others in 2014. The pair started arguing in the bathroom before the couple’s companions heard muffled screams, according to the prosecutor.

They tried to intervene after seeing the defendant putting an unconscious Ms Silva in a chokehold. After trying and failing to help her, they ran for help.

Police arrived to discover Clever’s girlfriend dead in the shower, with both her heart and right lung cut out of her body. The prosecutor said Ms Silva was still alive when her lung was removed. Clever was arrested two days later outside his home, where police found a knife that tested positive for the victim’s DNA.

The defendant admitted to further allegations of torture and mayhem, and will serve life without the possibility of parole.