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50 Years For N.J. Man Who Stabbed Wife To Death, Covered Her In Pig Mask

MORRISTOWN, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A man was sentenced to 50 years in prison Friday for fatally stabbing his ex-wife 84 times and then covering her face with a pig mask.

The prosecutor in Morris County, New Jersey called Anthony Novellino's crime ``despicable and cowardly.''

Novellino won't be eligible for parole for 42 1/2 years under New Jersey's No Early Release Act.

A jury found Novellino, 67, of Denville guilty in July of the murder of 62-year-old Judith Novellino, a high school English teacher. The couple had recently finalized their divorce.

Prosecutors said Anthony Novellino attacked his ex-wife in their Denville home on June 19, 2010 then covered her face with the pig mask. They had recently finalized their divorce, and Judith was packing items to take to her apartment when she was stabbed.

Judith Novellino was a high school English teacher. Their adult daughter found her body when she arrived at the home to help her mother move her belongings to an apartment she had rented in Parsippany.>A?

The couple's adult daughter found the body when she arrived at the home to help her mother move her belongings to an apartment she had rented.

Anthony Novellino fled after the killing and was captured several days later at a hotel in Puyallup, Washington.

The jury deliberated about three hours before convicting him of murder, hindering, evidence tampering and two weapons charges.

``The sentence imposed by the Court is fitting given the unspeakable nature of the crimes committed by the defendant,'' Morris County Prosecutor Fredric Knapp said. ``This was a despicable and cowardly murder and was punctuated by a final horrific insult. We hope that the friends and family of Judy Novellino will now have some sense of finality.''

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