BELFAST — A man indicted in a decades-old cold case death in Maine pleaded guilty Friday to a manslaughter charge.

Dorothea B. Burke Photo courtesy of Maine State Police

Police arrested Kirt Damon Sr. of Stockton Springs in 2020 and charged him with murder in the death of Dorothea Burke, 63.

Burke was last seen in 1984 at a bar in Bucksport. Construction workers found her body several days later. She had been beaten to death.

Damon, now 58, pleaded not guilty to the murder charge. He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge during a court appearance on Friday. WABI-TV reported he was later sentenced to 20 years in prison with all but 12 years suspended.

Police interviewed Damon several times over the years as part of the murder investigation, the Bangor Daily News reported.

He had no criminal history in Maine at the time of Burke’s death, but has since had brushes with the law, including a conviction for aggravated assault.