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Newport man sentenced for manslaughter in wife's strangulation

Frederick Allen Jr. will serve 12 years in prison for strangling his wife, Anielka Allen, to death in January 2020.

BANGOR, Maine — A Newport man has been ordered to serve 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to the fatal strangulation of his wife

Frederick Allen Jr. pleaded guilty to manslaughter Tuesday and apologized to friends and family in the courtroom. 

Anielka Allen, 37, was close to graduating from Beal College’s medical assistant program when she was strangled to death in January 2020.

Prosecutors say Anielka was leaving her husband and that her car was packed when she was killed.

After the sentencing Tuesday, Allen’s defense attorney, Caitlyn Smith, said that what happened to Anielka was a tragedy, but what Frederick went through was also challenging.

“I think the family thinks it’s [prison time] fair based off our quick conversation with them afterward,” Smith said. “I think that they know that Fred will hopefully get out in a little less than 10 years at this point because he’s already been in for two. So, they can see that in the future and know that the six years of probation that he has to do will help him address the PTSD that he suffers from.”

“We obviously argued for more but I respect the judge’s decision," Maine Assistant Attorney General Lisa Bogue said after his sentence was given. "It’s pretty difficult to have the victim's children be both there in support of the defendant as well as the victim, so that makes it more challenging, but we’re happy to have it resolved for us and the family.”

Court documents from March 2020 revealed the couple had a "rocky' relationship and Anielka "threatened to leave and go to Miami, Florida," Frederick's brother-in-law, Richter Clavey, told police.

Clavey also told police that Anielka "had taken a sword and broke a glass picture frame and took a piece of the broken glass and scratched her face out of the family photo," court documents say.

Court documents also revealed police spoke to Frederick's sister, Kathleen Clavey. She said Frederick "told her something to the effect of he 'lost it' or he 'cracked,'" court documents say.

Kathleen Clavey also described the couple's relationship to police as "abusive" and said the couple had problems for years.

Court documents showed Frederick is a veteran and was wounded physically. He received veterans services from the Togus VA Clinic. Kathleen Clavey told police he was supposed to be on medication for PTSD, but "she knows that he is not taking them."

At the time of Anielka's death, the couple's 16-year-old daughter was home. Court documents say Laura Allen "was in her bedroom and overheard both of her parents arguing in their bedroom."

The court documents went on to say, "she saw her father with her mother in a headlock."

Laura told police she thought her father "was trying to keep her mother from hurting him because she can get pretty violent when she loses her temper," according to court documents.

Laura left the house and texted her sister, Anastasia Allen, to come get her.

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