BANGOR (AP) — A judge has accepted a Bangor man’s guilty plea to manslaughter in the killing his 49-year-old girlfriend.

Superior Court Justice Ann Murray declined to accept David Coon’s plea earlier this month because he was too emotional, crying out that his girlfriend’s death “wasn’t supposed to happen.” But she agreed to accept his guilty plea on Wednesday.

Defense lawyer Jeffrey Silverstein told WZON-AM that the sentencing recommendation calls for Coon to serve 12 years in prison.

A police affidavit indicates Coon told investigators that he and the victim, Sherry Clifford, were on the floor in a tussle when he covered her mouth to keep her from screaming. The medical examiner concluded Clifford died from asphyxiation and a neck injury. Coon said he didn’t have his hands on her neck.