Family members of a woman who was brutally murdered and dismembered wept in court on Thursday during the sentencing hearing of killer Andrew Keene.
Keene, 34, was found guilty of the second-degree murder and dismemberment of Flanagan’s body by a jury earlier this week.
The jury heard how he lured the petite hairdresser to his basement apartment then strangled her to death in 2007.
In court the victim’s sister, Michelle O’Hara, described Keene as a “monster.”
“Even today I cannot drive around my hometown without passing one of the spots my sister’s body parts were dumped,” said O’Hara in court.
Other family members described the heartbreak, after hoping that Flanagan would return home - when her body parts began to show up months after she disappeared.
“Our hearts were broken into a million pieces,” said Flanagan’s mother, Wendy, in her statement to the court.
While second degree murder carries an automatic life sentence, a judge can allow parole eligibility anywhere between 10 and 25 years.
Crown attorney Mike Flosman wants at least 20 years before Keene should be allowed to apply for parole.
Defence Mitch Eisen is asking for 10 years. He noted Keene was beaten in jail by inmates and had to be hospitalized and then kept in segregation.
The judge will rule on parole July 2.
