BANGOR – A 38-year-old Corinth man was sentenced to 45 years in prison Thursday for the brutal murder of a Kenduskeag woman in February 1999.

Franklin Higgins said nothing to the court and showed no emotion when the sentence was handed down by Superior Court Chief Justice Andrew Mead.

It was an emotional day for the family of 40-year-old Katherine Poor, who said they felt that Higgins should have been sent to prison for life.

“Well, at least it’s most of his life,” said Katherine Poor’s mother, Alice Poor, as she dabbed at the tears in her eyes.

Though jurors heard a taped confession that Higgins gave to police weeks after the slaying, he now denies the killing.

Evidence at his trial in January indicated that Higgins and Poor had known each other for most of their lives and that Higgins frequently stopped at her Route 15 apartment.

Police began to suspect Higgins when they compiled a list of people who were acquainted with Poor. Though Higgins initially denied being at Poor’s apartment the day she died, his DNA turned up on cigarette butts that were left in her ashtray.

Because Poor had a habit of immediately emptying her ashtrays when smokers left her apartment, police began to suspect that she was dead before Higgins left.

Before announcing the sentence, Justice Mead noted the brutality involved in the murder.

Higgins tortured Poor, according to testimony, beating her, nicking her throat with a knife and slitting her throat twice.

“This was not a murder done quickly and quietly. It involved great pain, torture and suffering,” said Assistant Attorney General Lisa Marchese.

Marchese had requested a sentence of 50 to 55 years.

“This defendant shows absolutely no remorse and there is no acceptance of responsibility. His prospects for rehabilitation are marginal at best,” Marchese told the court.

Higgins’ attorney, Donald Brown of Bangor, argued that his client still denied the murder, but then seemed to indicate that anything that occurred was done in self-defense.

He then noted the brutality involved in the highly-publicized case of Vella Gogan who last month struck a plea bargain with prosecutors and was sentenced to 12 years in prison with all but six years suspended for shooting her husband while he slept, then dismembering his body.

The charge was reduced from murder to manslaughter after four forensic psychologists concurred that Gogan suffered from battered woman’s syndrome.

“I know the court must sentence my client to a minimum of 25 years in prison, but the court should not sentence Frank Higgins to any more than 25 years,” Brown said.

Laurie Knight, a close family friend of the Poors, reminded the court of the level of violence involved in Poor’s murder and said, “We don’t understand the criteria that needs to be met for a life sentence. … There are some lines that should never be crossed.”

Norma Griffiths, Higgins sister, spoke on her brother’s behalf saying that her brother was confused and a follower and had a difficult time when his parents died within 60 days of each other in 1995 and 1996.

She said her brother had always had a difficult time making good choices and relied heavily on his mother for guidance.

She also reminded the judge that Higgins had a 15-year-old stepson and a 6-year-old son at home.

Outside the courtroom, Ann Kenny, Poor’s younger sister, said she was angry that Higgins still refused to take responsibility for his crime.

“He blames Kathy for this. For where he is,” she said. “Life in prison wouldn’t have been enough. Nothing would be enough. He’ll face his judgment in another time and place.”