SKOWHEGAN — A former Fairfield man was sentenced to 55 years in prison Friday for the
Luc Tieman was sentenced to 55 years in prison for the murder of his wife, Valerie, in August 2016. (David Leaming/Morning Sentinel file photo)
August 2016 murder of his wife and burying her body in a shallow grave behind his parents’ home in Fairfield.
A jury of seven men and five women deliberated for less than an hour April 9 before finding Luc Tieman, 34, guilty of intentional or knowing murder in the death of Valerie Tieman.
Luc Tieman admitted to having an affair with another woman, and he was aware that a Waterville woman had sent Valerie messages saying that her husband was cheating on her, but he said he didn’t kill his wife. He said Valerie, who was 34, had died of a drug overdose.
Drugs were found in Valerie Tieman’s body during an autopsy performed Sept. 21, 2016, but the drugs did not kill her. Two gunshot wounds to the head and neck were the cause of death, according to a state medical examiner.
He faced 25 years to life in prison.
Assistant Attorneys General Leane Zainea and Leanne Robbin, the state prosecutors, sought a sentence of 55 years to the Department of Corrections, based on sentencing guidelines and previous cases, such as that of Robert Burton who was sent to prison for 55 years in December 2017 for killing his girlfriend in 2015.
There is no parole in the state of Maine.
Inside Valerie Tieman’s shallow grave, police, in September 2016, found a Mason jar containing flower stems, Luc Tieman’s wedding band and a handwritten note on an index card.
The note opened with the words “To my one and only Joy-Joy. Flower. Forever.”
The words in the note read: “I love you Valerie Joy T. I’ll love you forever. Rest in peace. My heart in Jesus,” with an X and an O, “hugs,” exclamation points, and an apparent reference to Luc Tieman’s marriage nickname “Luc-e” the bear, or “Luc-e Da Bear.”
The grave note contained language similar to that in other notes found among Valerie Tieman’s possessions taken from the Tieman home at 628 Norridgewock Road in Fairfield that September.
Valerie Tieman’s body was found wrapped in an orange, black and white blanket with the Mason jar “near her head.”
Under the body, police found a potato chip bag, a box of SweeTarts candy, a plaid shirt, a blue-and-gold woven knit hat and a bottle of Gucci cologne or perfume called Guilty.
Doug Harlow — 612-2367
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