Raymond Clark III was sentenced Friday in New Haven Superior Court.
Clark pleaded guilty in March to murder and the attempted sexual assault of 24-year-old Annie Le of Placerville, Calif., under an agreement with prosecutors that calls for a 44-year sentence. The sexual assault plea was entered under Connecticut's Alford doctrine, where the defendant doesn't agree to the facts, but agrees the state has enough evidence to get a conviction.
Le's body was found behind a lab wall on Sept. 13, 2009, five days after she was last seen inside the medical building. It would have been her wedding day.
Clark apologized in court today in New Haven, Conn., for the killing of the 24-year-old.
He said, "Annie was and will always be a wonderful person, by far a better person that I will ever be in my life."
Clark apologized for lying, for ruining lives, and for taking the young woman's life.
Le's mother, in a statement to the court, tearfully described her loss. She said her daughter was "about to start her life as a young bride" -- but now, she says, she'll "never see Annie's dreams come true."
