A Dartmouth teenager who stabbed a cab driver to death has been sentenced as an adult to life in prison without eligibility for parole for seven years.

The 19-year-oldwas sentenced on a second-degree murder charge Tuesdayin the stabbing deathof Ken Purcell on Christmas morning 2005.

Purcell, 62, picked up the teen at a convenience store on Highfield Park Drive and drove to Churchill Drive. They got in a fight over the fare and Purcell was stabbed 14 times.

The teen, who was 17 at the time, cannot be named.

Hewas originally charged with first-degree murder but the charge was later dropped tosecond-degree murder. He pleaded guilty in 2006.

Purcell's girlfriend, Kelly-Anne Goode, said the sentence was appropriate given the brutality of thecrime.

Two Crown attorneys working on the case pushed for an adult sentence instead of a youth sentence, which would have meant only four years in custody.