PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - A judge imposed a 28-year sentence Wednesday on a Portland, Maine, man who described the longtime girlfriend he killed as “my best friend, the love of my life, the girl of my dreams.”
Gregory Vance, 62, pleaded guilty in November to murdering Patricia Grassi, who was 59 at the time of her death, the Portland Press Herald reported.
“I’m so sorry Patti’s life came to such an abrupt end by my actions that day 17 months ago,” Vance said Wednesday. “Every hour of every day, I am saddened by her absence. I really do miss her so very much.”
Vance has been held without bail since his arrest on March 17, 2019, the day Grassi’s body was found. An autopsy showed Grassi was strangled.
Both the defense and prosecution described the relationship between Vance and Grassi as volatile and toxic. The two struggled with bouts of homelessness, mental illness and addiction.
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