A 44-year-old Kauai man was sentenced to life in prison today for murdering his 88-year-old neighbor on New Year’s Eve in 2013.

Giovanni Corpuz, of Koloa, was sentenced by Fifth Circuit Judge Kathleen Watanabe before members of the victim’s family.

In January, Corpuz pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Amby Cruz, a retired Lihue Plantation mechanic from Omao.

He admitted to shooting Cruz, who was found unresponsive at his home in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day 2014. Autopsy results determined Cruz died from a single gunshot wound to the head.

Corpuz apparently was high on methamphetamine and had not slept for more than a week when he killed Cruz, a Kauai spokeswoman said.

Corpuz fled after the shooting and was en route to the Philippines when the FBI caught him in Taipei with the help of the Taiwanese government in early 2014. He was later extradited to Hawaii.

The Hawaii Paroling Authority will determine Corpuz’s minimum sentence before he is eligible for parole.