BANGOR, Maine — A Hampden man was sentenced today for the murder of his sister-in-law.
56-year-old Philip Clark was sentenced to 43 years to the Department of Corrections for shooting Renee Henneberry-Clark several times before ultimately killing her.
Clark faced trial in November. It lasted for two days, and the jury found him guilty.
Prior to being sentenced on Tuesday, Clark took the stand to address the court and apologize to Renee's family.
Clark said, "I do feel terrible. I feel terrible about the horrible things I did. I don’t condone it. I am truly sorry that I took her away from you and I’m truly sorry to Renee that I cut her life short.
At the time of the trial, Clark's defense did not argue with the events of that night. Instead, they said they just wanted to tell Clark's side of the story.
Philip is brother to Frank, or "Chuck", Clark, who was Renee's husband. The three of them lived in the same building in Hampden, but they did not live in the same apartment.
Court documents that surfaced during the case indicated that Renee had filed for a protection from abuse order against Philip in 2016. She was denied that order, however, because the law's language only pertained to immediate family or household members.
Following Renee's death, her daughter led a fight to change state law regarding protection from abuse orders. The bill, which was passed and signed into law in June, changes the language regarding who you can file a protection from abuse order against to broaden options.