PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia man with a history of mental illness has been convicted of strangling three women during sex and sentenced to three consecutive life sentences.

Prosecutors didn't seek the death penalty against 23-year-old Antonio Rodriguez.

DNA evidence linked Rodriguez with the deaths, which gripped the city's Kensington neighborhood in late 2010.

The victims have been described as struggling with addiction and sometimes working as prostitutes. Their half-nude bodies were found in trash-strewn abandoned lots or homes.

Rodriguez didn't testify at the non-jury trial. A judge also convicted Rodriguez on Thursday of a string of other charges, including rape and abuse of a corpse.

The defense had fought unsuccessfully to exclude a police statement in which Rodriguez described in graphic detail how he killed the women after paying them for sex. (AP)