A 42-year-old Assaria man has been sentenced to nearly 19 years in prison for killing his wife and attempting to kill his sister-in-law.

Judge Rene Young heard emotional statements from the victims’ families and friends Friday before imposing the maximum sentence against Michael Andrew Paulson.

Paulson was convicted in July of second-degree murder in the 2010 stabbing death of Valerie Paulson. He also was found guilty of attempted second-degree murder for injuring his sister-in-law, Jessie Putman.

Prosecutors said Paulson was facing the prospect of divorce and hid with a knife in the couple’s Assaria home as his wife was returning to pick up her belongings.