Reginald Potts Sentenced To Life In Prison For Murder Of Nailah Franklin

CHICAGO (CBS) -- After calling Reginald Potts Jr. "a cold, conniving coward," a judge sentenced Potts Tuesday to life in prison for killing Nailah Franklin in 2007 soon after she broke off their relationship.

Judge Thomas Gainer noted Potts has been in "continuous custody" for criminal behavior since 1996. He was sentenced to life without possibility of parole.

Potts, 39, ambushed Franklin, a 28-year-old pharmaceutical rep, asphyxiating her and dumping her body in a secluded area behind his brother-in-law's vacant video store in Calumet City.

Days before Franklin disappeared, she told a friend that if she ever went missing, her disgruntled former beau, Reginald Potts, "did it."

Franklin's badly decomposed was discovered nine days after her death in a wooded area behind a vacant Calumet City store owned by Potts' brother-in-law.

Her car turned up in Hammond, Indiana, roughly a block away from where Potts allegedly had his friend pick him up the day of the brutal murder.

At his sentencing hearing last week, Potts told the court the he was "not a monster," blaming the media for portraying him unjustly.

"I can't seek forgiveness for something I did not do," he said.

Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez said in a statement: "This is the only fitting sentence for Reginald Potts because he is a monster who must never be allowed to return to society. This defendant stole Nailah Franklin's vibrant life and then went on to torture her loved ones and exploit our criminal justice system. After this extremely long and excruciating process, we are hopeful that this sentence will provide some measure of solace and justice for Nailah's family and friends."