SALINA, Kan. (AP) — A Salina man convicted of killing his girlfriend’s 18-month-old daughter was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 20 years.

Twenty-eight-year-old Troy Love was sentenced Wednesday for felony murder and child abuse in the April 2012 death of Bre’Elle Jefferson. He was sentenced to 55 months in prison for the child abuse conviction. The sentences will run consecutively.

KSAL reports witnesses at the trial indicated the child suffered various injuries over a period of time. Love was primary caregiver of the girl while her mother, Robin Harrington, was recovering from a back injury.

In a statement before the sentencing, Harrington called Love “a monster” and a “coward who bullied a helpless child.”

Love did not make a statement.