MACHIAS — 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 in Dec. 2023, 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 tried on murder charges. But a mistrial was declared after jurors deadlocked on the charge against Dana. Assistant Attorney General Leane Zainea said then that the state will reassess the charges against Dana and make a decision about retrying him.

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.

Neptune was a citizen of the Passamaquoddy Tribe, which sponsored a $10,000 reward for information about her death.

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

According to a police affidavit, Brackett and Dana had planned to rob Neptune for drugs, including Xanax. Police had said that the bedroom where Neptune’s body was found contained bloodstained pillows, blankets and clothes, and the clothes Neptune had on were “saturated” with blood.

Neptune was stabbed in the legs, neck, stomach and head, according to the state Medical Examiner’s office.