MAYS LANDING -- A Mullica Township man will serve 30 years in state prison for murdering his wife in 2014, according to the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office.

Following a six-day trial in July, a jury found Sergio DeRosa guilty of murder in the shooting death of Lynn DeRosa, 57.

Judge John R. Rauh sentenced DeRosa on Tuesday to 30 years and ordered that he serve the entire term before he is eligible for parole.

The defendant claimed that he accidentally shot his wife in the head while cleaning his shotgun.

"The defendant has spent three years since the crime trying to place blame on other people and taking no responsibility for killing his wife," Chief Assistant Prosecutor Seth Levy said in a statement following the Tuesday morning sentencing.

"In that time, the prosecution continued the investigation and did not give up. In July, a jury assigned responsibility to the defendant with a guilty verdict and now Judge Rauh has also assigned responsibility."

Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattGraySJT. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.