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"All persons have suffered greatly by the way you acted out and by what you did," Judge Peter Deegan told Kelly at his June 11 sentencing in St. Clair County Circuit Court.

Detailing Kelly's long history of felony arrests for domestic assault, and his long history of alcohol and other substance abuse, Deegan said, "In this court's opinion, you are very aggressive and very dangerous. If you were given a short prison term, you would be back to substance abuse and would have another woman you'd be beating on. In my opinion, it's necessary to separate you from society for a long time."

A jury in May convicted Kelly, 26, of second-degree murder in the death of Sharrow, 22. Police and medical evidence provided at the trial indicated that Sharrow sustained a skull fracture during a Nov. 24, 2006 attack at her Fort Gratiot apartment. After being in and out of hospitals, she lapsed into a coma and died Dec. 12 in Saginaw Covenant Hospital.

In a statement at his sentencing, Kelly said, "Holli Sharrow meant the world to me. I loved her and I still do. Holli passed away, but still lives. Death is not the end of life."

To Sharrow's friends and family members who were present in the courtroom, he concluded, "I'm truly very sorry for the loss of one you loved so much."

Sharrow's family members, including her mother, Ann Venitis of Sandusky, and father Dan Sharrow of Florida, rose to say how much they missed her.

"My daughter did not deserve to die," said Venetis, adding that Sharrow's daughter, Adrienne, 3, has been deprived of her mother.

Tears were shed while Sharrow's stepmother, Holly Sharrow of Florida, read the lyrics of a song about domestic abuse.

After Kelly's conviction, Holly Sharrow said, "It's good that they did a thorough job and took everything into consideration. He'll be away from the public long enough so if he walks free, he won't be in any condition to hurt anyone else."

Kelly's defense lawyer Stephen Rabaut objected to criteria used in a pre-sentencing report that evidence showed sadism, torture and excessive brutality.

Assistant Prosecutor Mona Armstrong argued that the holes in the walls of Sharrow's apartment, the severity of her injuries and evidence that the hair had been pulled from her head, met that definition.

"The defendant literally killed Holli with his bare hands," she said.

Rabaut also objected to sentencing criteria that Kelly had a history of felonious behavior. He said Kelly had been arrested, but never convicted, of felonious assault.

Armstrong argued that the fact Kelly had never been convicted was irrelevant.

"He has no less than five prior arrests for felonious assault. That is enough to indicate felonious behavior," she said. "His record includes assault and battery to other people, not just Holli Sharrow," she said, pointing out that Kelly is under lockdown in the St. Clair County Jail currently because of threatening behavior.

Deegan said he was satisfied that the crime fit the definitions in the pre-sentencing report.

The sentence includes credit for 191 days already served and $999.24 in court costs.

"I'm satisfied with the sentence," Armstrong said. "Nothing would be enough, as far as Holli's family is concerned. But I think we achieved as much justice as possible for the family."

Medical examiner Dr. Kanu Virani, who performed the autopsy on Sharrow, said she died from blunt force head trauma with complications.

The jury learned that it was not the first time Kelly had physically abused Sharrow. He was charged three times in Sanilac County courts for separate attacks against her in 2003, 2004 and July 2006.

The assaults included hitting Sharrow with his car and breaking her rib. He was released from jail just 18 days before the beating that ended in her death.

Colleen Titus, a St. Clair County Sheriff Department detective, testified that she spoke with Sharrow several days after the fatal attack.

Sharrow told the detective that she and Kelly were fighting at Sharrow's apartment in the early morning hours of Nov. 25, when he grabbed her on both sides of her head and slammed her head into the wall.

Titus testified that she observed multiple holes in the living room wall of Sharrow's apartment. In one, she found a blonde hair that later was identified as Sharrow's.

Kelly's trial lasted nearly a week and included testimony from 30 witnesses. The jury took only 50 minutes to return a verdict.

Armstrong said testimony at the trial indicated that Sharrow's family had tried to get her away from Kelly's influence.

"It's not always just a simple matter of walking away," she said. "Often in domestic violence cases, victims are in more danger when they try to leave."