CHELSEA — A 68-year-old man who grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed his ex-girlfriend to death in her Chelsea apartment — while she had an active restraining order against him — has been sentenced to life in prison.

But under the terms of a plea deal, Angel Alvarez will be eligible for parole in just 17 years.

Alvarez punched Margarita Morehead, 59, twice in the face during an argument at her home on the morning of May 8, 2023, prosecutors said. Then he grabbed a large kitchen knife and stabbed her multiple times in the chest and back.

A neighbor heard Morehead screaming.

The neighbor watched Alvarez walk out of the apartment with a trail of blood behind him.

The neighbor did not call police.

Officers found Morehead unconscious on her apartment floor. The knife was still lying next to her body. She was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

She was a mother of four.

While Morehead lay dying, Alvarez drove to a Target in Everett and bought new clothes to replace his blood-soaked ones, prosecutors said. Security cameras captured the entire trip. He also attempted to dispose of his cellphone.

Throughout the day, he called multiple people and told them he had stabbed Morehead. He eventually called police that evening and turned himself in.

Morehead had been granted a restraining order against Alvarez in October 2022, seven months before her murder. It was still active when he killed her.

It made no difference. Despite the court order barring all contact, the two had remained in close contact, prosecutors said. Alvarez had lived "off and on" at Morehead's Chelsea apartment throughout their years-long relationship and "exhibited jealousy and hostility toward Morehead," frequently accusing her of cheating.

The morning of her murder, the argument was about Morehead's "attempts to end their relationship." She threatened to call police if Alvarez didn't leave.

He punched her in the face.

Then Morehead told Alvarez that her daughter — who was expected to visit later that day — would see her injuries, and he would "end up in jail."

That's when he reached for the knife.

Alvarez originally pleaded not guilty in September 2023. In February, he changed his plea to guilty — but to second-degree murder, not first.

First-degree murder in Massachusetts carries life without parole. Second-degree carries life with parole eligibility after 15 to 25 years.

The DA's office accepted the deal. A man who violated a restraining order, beat a woman in the face, grabbed a kitchen knife, and stabbed her to death while she screamed for help now has a path back to the streets.

Morehead's children delivered victim impact statements at sentencing, describing their mother as "a pillar of her community."

"Our mother, Margarita, was not defined by the way her life ended but by the way she lived, by the love she gave to family, the guidance she offered to others, and the quiet strength she carried every day," her son told the courtroom.

Morehead's son's partner called Alvarez "a perfect example of a monster, one who the victim Margarita Morehead loved, cared for, supported."

Her daughter said domestic violence "didn't just take my mother's life. It took a grandmother from my son, a parent from me, and a piece of our family that can never be replaced."

"We'll never know if Margarita's life could have been saved if the neighbors had acted more quickly," DA Kevin Hayden said, "but it's clear that no one should wait to contact police if they have any reason to think that someone is a victim of violence."

Angel Alvarez will be eligible for parole in 17 years. He'll be 85.

Margarita Morehead's four children will never see their mother again.