Man sentenced in northwest Arizona murder

KINGMAN, Ariz. — A 16-year prison sentence was imposed Monday for a homicide committed three years ago in the northwest Arizona community of Fort Mohave.

The punishment for Zane Mason, 31, was prescribed in a plea agreement convicting him of second-degree murder.

Mason claimed he acted in self-defense when he stabbed 53-year-old Greg Zeller in the heart in the garage of Zeller’s home in August 2011. The prosecutor and investigators said the specific motive and other details of the homicide are not clear, but the victim’s wife blamed drug involvement.

“Drugs destroy a lot of people’s lives. It destroyed my husband’s and Zane, it destroyed yours, too,” Athena Zeller said. “Please just say ‘no’ to drugs. They’re not worth losing your family. They’re not worth losing your freedom.”