(Montevideo, MN) -- A man from Montevideo has been sentenced to life in prison without parole after pleading guilty to the January 2012 stabbing death of 18-year-old Vinessa Lozano. 25-year-old Darek Nelson murdered Lozano after the two finished a shift at the Pizza Ranch restaurant, saying later he killed her because she rejected his romantic advances. Chippewa County Attorney Dave Gilbertson says Nelson declined to comment before sentencing, but Lozano's mother, brother, stepfather and the father of Lozano's child all made heartfelt remarks. Nelson's trial had been set to begin at the end of February.