Maine’s supreme court has upheld a 40-year prison sentence imposed on a man who killed his roommate.

Dustan Bentley pleaded guilty to murder in the death of 65-year-old William Popplewell in Old Ochard Beach in March 2019. Police arrested him as he was attempting to ratchet Popplewell’s body in to the trunk of his car, which was lined with a shower curtain.

An autopsy revealed the victim had been beaten, strangled and stabbed up to 30 times.

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court unanimously ruled that there was no evidence that the judge deviated from established sentencing principles.