Oscar Dimery was sentenced Monday to serve 23 years in prison for the murder of his girlfriend.

Dimery, who was convicted by a jury of second-degree murder, had a sentencing range of 15-25 years.

Judge Don Poole set the sentence.

Dimery did not put on any proof at the sentencing hearing. He had declined to give a statement to a probation officer.

Evangela Kinlen, sister of victim Jaquesta Ballew, said she was on her honeymoon on Signal Mountain when she got a call at 4 a.m. telling her that her sister had been killed. Ms. Ballew died of multiple blunt force blows to the head on Sept. 17, 2007.

The sister said she had invited Ms. Ballew to be a bridesmaid at her wedding two days earlier and had bought her a dress and shoes. But she said she did not show up for the wedding in Cleveland, Tn. She said she believes that Dimery kept her from going.

Ms. Ballew, who was 34, had children ages 15 and 18, though they were mainly raised by their fathers, it was testified.

Dimery, who turns 33 next month, had been convicted of domestic assault against Ms. Ballew in May 2007. He was given a six-month sentence, but got out early.

His record includes four prior felonies and five misdemeanors, though defense attorney Dan Ripper said none of those involved violence. They mainly occurred in Bladen County, N.C.

The state had sought a first-degree murder conviction at the trial.

Dimery has been in custody since his arrest shortly after the incident.

The defendant did not take the witness stand at the trial, but his brother claimed he was with him at the time of the slaying. Prosecutors pointed out that the brother had not given that alibi testimony in an earlier statement.

Medical Examiner Dr. Frank King told the jury that the victim had wounds of two different patterns. He said some appeared to come from an elongated roundish object and other wounds that fractured the victim's skull from a two-pronged instrument of some kind.

A neighbor testified that she heard cries for help from Ms. Ballew before police arrived and found her lying on the floor in a pool of blood.

Frances Westfield of 3700 Fagan St. said Ms. Ballew had asked her for help against Dimery earlier that day.

She said Dimery returned around 5 p.m. and a few hours later she heard screams coming from Apt. C. She said she went over and found the door open, but Dimery blocked the door and would not let her in. She said after Dimery locked the door, she called police.

Prosecutors Lance Pope and Cameron Williams said officers arrived within minutes, but Ms. Ballew was already dead from blunt force injuries and stab wounds.