BANGOR — A Bangor man accused of killing his 49-year-old girlfriend has tearfully pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

David Coon told a judge Thursday that “I lost my girlfriend which wasn’t supposed to happen.” WZON-AM says he also told the judge that he loved the victim, Sherry Clifford.

But Superior Court Justice Ann Murray didn’t accept his plea, and the hearing was continued.

A police affidavit indicates Coon told investigators that the two 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. But he told the judge Thursday that he didn’t have his hands on her neck.