PORTLAND (AP) – A martial arts expert from Rockport was sentenced Friday to 52 years in prison for beating his girlfriend to death in a downtown Portland hotel room early last year.

David Haraden, 49, faced a minimum of 25 years and a maximum of life for the murder of Maxine Witham, 35.

Prosecutors said Witham died a slow and painful death following the beating. An autopsy showed that she suffered a broken jaw, a swollen brain and numerous contusions and abrasions.

At the three-hour sentencing hearing in Cumberland County Superior Court, Assistant Attorney General Lisa Marchese and members of Witham’s family detailed Haraden’s long history of beating and stalking the victim prior to her death.

They said that as Witham lay dying in the hotel room, Haraden drank beer, watched TV and ordered room service.

Haraden, who has a black belt in tae kwon do, addressed the court in a rambling 30-minute statement, professing his innocence and portraying himself as the victim.

“Nobody seems to want to know the truth,” he told Justice Robert Crowley.

Crowley then sentenced Haraden to 52 years – which was two more years than prosecutors had requested. Haraden’s attorney said an appeal is planned.

Jurors at last fall’s trial had viewed a videotape in which Haraden told police that he found his girlfriend alive but on the floor after he returned to their 12th-floor room at the Eastland Park Hotel after going out to walk their dog.

The couple were staying in Portland during a return trip from Massachusetts, where Haraden appeared for a probation revocation hearing on a conviction for assaulting a police officer.

Police found Witham’s body in the room on Jan. 4, 2005. Haraden said he was afraid to notify authorities because he was on probation.

AP-ES-02-17-06 1811EST

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