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BANGOR, Maine » A judge on Friday imposed a 50-year sentence on a woman convicted of killing her husband using pliers, a box cutter and a plastic baseball bat during a jealous rage.
Justice E. Allen Hunter, who previously described Roxanne Jeskey’s actions as "monstrous savagery," told her he chose not to impose a life sentence because of her brain injury. Her lawyers argued that the injury contributed to mental problems, leading to the violent outburst in June 2011.
A medical examiner reported that Richard Jeskey was beaten and strangled and suffered cuts, punctures and bruises from head to toe. His naked body was found in a bathtub in their Bangor apartment.
A neighbor testified that Roxanne Jeskey was angry because her husband had been calling another woman.
On Friday, she addressed the judge and suggested she would have been better off letting "nature take its course" instead of having surgery 10 years earlier to remove a brain tumor.
Jeskey also apologized to her husband’s family. "I can honestly say I’ve prayed for you. I do feel your sorrow. I do miss him. He was my husband," she said. Later, she looked at her own family and said, "God will make each day better than the day before, and I’m confident I’ll get the help I need," WZON-AM reported.
Prosecutors sought a life sentence for Jeskey. The defense asked the judge to impose 20 to 25 years, and said she’d likely die in prison even with that sentence.
