MINEOLA, N.Y. — A New Yorker will spend 18 years to life in prison after admitting he strangled his wife, then staged an elaborate ruse to make it appear she’d been carjacked.

William Walsh was sentenced Wednesday. He pleaded guilty in May to murder, tampering with evidence and weapon possession.

He admitted killing Leah Walsh in October 2008 following an argument in their Bethpage home on Long Island.

The 31-year-old reported his wife missing. The special education teacher’s vehicle was found alongside a highway. The two-day search ended when authorities found her body dumped several miles away in the woods.

Prosecutors say the victim’s family approved of the plea deal to avoid further emotional trauma that a trial would bring.