FREEHOLD, N.J. (AP) — A man convicted of beating his wife with a frying pan and strangling her said that he misses her daily before he was sentenced Thursday to 30 years in prison before parole.

Patrick Allen, 47, was sentenced by a Monmouth County judge in the murder of his wife, Kimberly.

“We lost a great woman,” Allen said before he was sentenced as his two sons and other relatives sat in the courtroom, according to the Asbury Park Press (http://on.app.com/1ziMYvK). “Mom will always shine her love on both of you.”

Her father told the judge his grandsons will go through life knowing their father killed their mother.

“Their mother is deceased and their father is going to be in custody for a very long time,” said Superior Court Judge John Mullaney Jr.

Allen, of Middletown, had been concealing the fact that they were about to lose their home to foreclosure, prosecutors said. He also had more than $600,000 in debt, between two mortgages on the family’s house and $25,000 in credit card debt, they said.

Prosecutors claimed an argument ensued when his wife learned of the situation and Allen killed her while the couple’s two children were at school. He was convicted in December.

In her closing statement, Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Maria Franceschini picked up the frying pan wrapped in plastic and swung it to show jurors how Allen struck his wife over the head. She then showed jurors autopsy photos showing the result of Kimberly Allen being struck by the frying pan.