The 23-year-old Michigan man who came to Oak Harbor to visit his Navy girlfriend and ended up murdering her in a jealous rage received an exceptional sentence in Island County Superior Court Wednesday.

Judge Vicki Churchill sentenced Jerry Lee Farrow to 30 years in prison after sternly lecturing him about the cruelty of his crime.

Farrow was convicted of second-degree murder with a deadly weapon and third-degree assault with a deadly weapon following a four-day trial in December.

Farrow was facing a maximum of 23 years in prison under the standard sentencing rage, but judges can impose exceptional sentences under certain aggravating circumstances.

Chief Criminal Prosecutor Steve Selby argued that Farrow deserved a longer sentence because of his deliberate cruelty, lack of remorse, intimidating nature of the crime, and the fact that it was a domestic abuse crime that occurred within the sight and sound of a child.

Farrow shot Faith Ellison in the head in the early morning of Aug. 4, 2001, after pulling her half-way out of bed. Ellison had gone to sleep in the bedroom of her Oak Harbor home while the couple’s 4-year-old daughter slept in the next room.

Farrow, who had allegedly assaulted Ellison in the past, was upset and jealous after he saw Ellison talking to another man at a party.

Farrow claimed that he accidentally shot Ellison while they were playing with the gun.

Selby said the sentencing hearing was “one of the most emotional” he’s ever seen. A half dozen of Ellison’s friends spoke at the hearing, describing Ellison as a very kind and loving friend and mother. They were angry at Farrow for taking their friend away and asked for a lengthy sentence.

Ellison was from Saginaw, Mich., and had joined the Navy about three years ago. She had been stationed at VP-1 at the naval air station since February 1999.

The couple’s 4-year-old daughter, Diamond, is now living with her maternal grandmother in Michigan.