BANGOR (AP) – A 35-year-old Bangor man was found guilty of murder Wednesday in the beating and suffocation death of a friend in a Bangor apartment.

A Penobscot County jury deliberated for an hour before finding Peter Tuller guilty in the death of Michael Demmons, 47, in June 2006.

Tuller faces 25 years to life in prison. A sentencing date has not been scheduled.

During the three-day trial, the state medical examiner testified that Demmons’ skull was fractured more than 10 times and that 15 of his ribs were fractured two to four times each. Demmons’ body was found hog-tied with plastic trash bags over his head in an apartment he was sharing with 46-year-old Maria Santos, who was described in court documents as Tuller’s ex-girlfriend.

Police found Tuller hiding under a bed in the apartment that night.

During the trial, Tuller’s attorney indicated that Santos might have played a role in Demmons’ death. Santos invoked her Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate herself, and Tuller did not testify.

On Wednesday, a former inmate testified that Tuller admitted fatally beating Demmons after arriving in the Penobscot County Jail.

Todd Wark said he was awaiting trial on a drug trafficking charge when Tuller was hauled into his cell the day after the killing. Wark testified that he asked Tuller why he was in jail and that Tuller responded: “I killed my best friend last night.”

Wark said Tuller admitted beating Demmons but said it was Santos who covered the victim’s head with a plastic bag.

Demmons sister, Laurie Stevenson, 42, burst into tears after the verdict was read. Earlier in the week, she said her brother wouldn’t have known how to defend himself from an attack because he had cerebral palsy and the IQ of a 14-year-old.

After the verdict, she told reporters on the courthouse steps that she and her four surviving brothers would ask the judge to send Tuller to prison for life.

“Peter Tuller truly was the devil that night, but my brother wasnt afraid because he had God with him,” said Stevenson, who lives in Brunswick. “Someday, well all go to the better place where he is.”