Massachusetts ? A garbage man was convicted Thursday of rape and murder in the slaying of a fashion writer who was found beaten and stabbed in her Cape Cod home, her 2-year-old daughter clinging to her body.

Christopher McCowen, 34, received the automatic sentence of life in prison without parole for the 2002 killing of Christa Worthington, 46.

“I never meant for this to ever take place,” said McCowen, who thanked the judge and court officers for showing him respect during the six-week trial. “Your honor, all I can say is I’m an innocent man in this case.”

McCowen, who worked in the small town of Truro where Worthington lived, initially denied having any physical contact with her. After police told him his DNA had been found on her body, McCowen said they had consensual sex and he had beaten her. But he said a friend plunged the knife through her chest.

“We put the boots to her,” McCowen said, according to police. The friend never was charged.