Woman sentenced to 55 years for death of longtime friend stabbed nearly 500 times

MACHIAS, Maine (AP) — A judge on Friday sentenced a woman to 55 years in prison for the 2022 killing of a longtime friend who was stabbed nearly 500 times.

Kailie A. Brackett, who was convicted of murder, said that she was not responsible and that the real killer or killers could be at large.

Brackett and Donnell Dana, of Perry, were both charged and tried for murder. But a mistrial was declared after jurors deadlocked on the charge against Dana.

They were accused in the death of Kimberly Neptune, 43, of Perry, whose body was found wrapped in a blanket in her home in April 2022 with 484 stab wounds, according to state police.

Police officers from the Passamaquoddy Pleasant Point reservation found Neptune’s body after an alert from her brother. The town of Perry abuts the Passamaquoddy Tribe reservation at Pleasant Point.

Dana later pleaded guilty to hindering apprehension or prosecution for disposing of evidence related to Brackett’s murder charge.