Lee man sentenced to 20 years for killing wife

BANGOR – Carl Dyer hung his head and cried Monday as a Superior Court judge sentenced him to 20 years in prison for shooting and killing his wife last year.

His daughter said the sentence was too long.

Her daughter said the sentence was too short.

During a short hearing in Penobscot County Superior Court, Dyer apologized to the court and family members for shooting Rosemarie Dyer, 52, in the thigh on July 2, 2004, at their Ridge Road home in Lee.

She died 36 hours later on the Fourth of July at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.

“Please forgive me,” Dyer, 52, told Justice Joseph Jabar, who handed down the sentence. “I did a very shameful thing. I loved my wife. I’m very, very, very ashamed of my actions.”

Dyer pleaded guilty in October to manslaughter.

Assistant Attorney General Andrew Benson and defense attorney Nolan Tanous of Millinocket jointly recommended Monday that Dyer be sentenced to 20 years in prison. If he had been convicted of murder, Dyer would have faced 25 years to life in prison.

“I’m sorry, truly sorry,” Dyer said. “Not a day goes by that I don’t think of ending my life. I don’t know who I am or what I am anymore.

“I can’t bring her back,” he continued, his voice cracking with emotion. “This brought me to the end of my rope. I don’t know if I want to go on with my life.”

Carl Dyer’s daughter, Angela Dyer, 32, of Lewiston, told the court that her father had a “mental condition” that influenced his behavior, but he had not been treated properly for it because he did not have insurance.

“I don’t think he deserves 20 years,” she said outside the courtroom. “I think he should have a lesser sentence and get the help he needs.”

The victim’s daughter, Julie Ann Babb, 35, of Hermon, said after the sentencing that she did not believe Dyer’s claims of remorse or that the sentence was not long enough.

“He should have had life,” she said. “He took a human life.”

The judge said the sentence fit the crime.

Although the maximum sentence for manslaughter is 40 years, Jabar said, the crime must be among the “most violent and heinous” when compared to other crimes, such as murder, to justify a sentence longer than 20 years.

Dyer could be released after 15 years if he earns the maximum amount of “good time” in prison, the judge said.

Dyer has been in custody since his arrest the day of shooting when he called 911 to report that he had shot his wife.

When police arrived, Dyer was in front of the home with blood on his hands and a shotgun broken into three pieces lying at his feet, according to court documents. Rosemarie Dyer was found inside lying on a couch with a towel on her leg and a pool of blood on the floor next to her.

It was not the first time authorities had been to the Dyer home for domestic trouble.

In 1993, Dyer reportedly shot at his wife and choked her, according to court documents. He also was prohibited from possessing a firearm because he was a convicted felon.