A Mill Creek-area man responsible for a fatal beating “without any justification” was sentenced to more than 46 years in prison Monday, March 26.

Even with time off for good behavior, William Douglas Lance, 45, will spend the next 40 years behind bars, deputy prosecutor Craig Matheson said.

A jury convicted Lance on March 15 of first-degree murder in the bludgeoning death of his roommate, Darryl Plumb, 51.

Plumb died after being struck at least 48 times with an as-yet unidentified instrument. Sheriff’s detectives found his blood splattered throughout the house the two men shared on 35th Avenue Southeast.

Lance told the judge he was sorry for Plumb’s death and that he did not plan the killing.

Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Michael Downes disagreed. He’d presided over Lance’s nearly two week trial.

“I saw ample evidence of premeditation here,” he said. “You set upon Mr. Plumb in his bedroom. This was a savage, brutal beating without justification of any kind.”

Public defender Jennifer Rancourt asked for a term of about 37 years, saying that Lance has always expressed grief about Plumb’s death and frequently wept openly during their discussions about the case.

She told the judge she’s convinced there was no longstanding plan to kill Plumb.

Matheson asked for the maximum penalty under the law, and he got it.

“He savagely beat (Plumb) from one end of the house to the other,” Matheson told the judge. The prosecutor reminded the judge that at least three of the blows could have been fatal unto themselves, according to testimony.

The jury deliberated a little more than three hours before convicting Lance of murder and acquitting him of a second charge, conspiracy to solicit first-degree murder. The second charge stemmed from evidence that Lance had hired a Snohomish County Jail cellmate to kill a chief witness in the case against him.

Plumb’s body lay on the floor of the house he shared with Lance for a day and a half.

Lance and several of his friends spent the time cleaning up some of the blood and getting rid of a marijuana-growing operation at the Mill Creek-area home.

Snohomish County sheriff’s detectives found Plumb’s body buried in a shallow grave in the back yard.

Evidence showed that the assault started while Plumb was in bed, and the prosecutor said blood found on walls indicated that the stricken man crawled down a hall to the living room, where the pummeling continued.

Jim Haley is a reporter with The Herald in Everett.