3 are sentenced in slaying of worker

? Denounced as “evil” and “despicable,” three young friends who plotted the killing of a developmentally disabled Walmart cashier who had been hitting on a co-worker drew long prison terms Monday.

Timothy Smith, Anthony Howe and Amber Talbot, who pleaded guilty to murder and conspiracy in the October 2008 death of 25-year-old Christopher Gray, sat at adjoining tables in court as the victim’s family members tearfully remembered him and berated his killers.

“Just remember that night,” said David Kemp, 33, Gray’s brother. “I hope it eats you and eats you and eats you until can’t take it (any) longer.”

Smith and Howe each got 40 years to life and Talbot 25 to 50 years for taking the Groton, Vt., man to a mobile home under the pretext of watching movies. There, Smith, 24, and Howe, 19, who are cousins, stabbed and strangled him as they stood around a campfire.

Gray, an aspiring auto mechanic whose buoyant personality helped him overcome a low IQ, attention deficit disorder and a speech impediment, became a target after wooing Talbot, 18, who also worked at the Woodsville Walmart.

Her boyfriend, Michael Robie, 19, became enraged when he heard about it and plotted revenge, enlisting the other three from his jail cell. Robie, who was heard discussing the attack in tape-recorded telephone calls from jail, has pleaded guilty to assault and conspiracy.

He is awaiting sentencing.