OSSIPEE — A Tamworth man was sentenced Tuesday for his role in a robbery that proved fatal for a 20-year-old Portland, Maine, woman.

Krista Dittmeyer's body was discovered in a snow-making pond at the base of Mount Cranmore in April 2011 in North Conway. Days earlier, her 14-month-old daughter was found, unharmed, inside Dittmeyer's idling car at an athletic center parking lot at the ski area.

The autopsy showed that Dittmeyer died of prolonged underwater submersion.

Police said Dittmeyer's killer, Anthony Papile, gave Trevor Ferguson $20, gas and a small amount of drugs to pick him up after he disposed of Dittmeyer's body.

Senior Assistant Attorney General Jane Young said Ferguson, 24, is to serve seven to 15 years for the charge of conspiracy to commit robbery. He also received a consecutive 3 1/2 to seven-year sentence for hindering apprehension. That sentence is to be suspended if in his first seven years behind bars, Ferguson completes an associate's degree.

Clothier said his client agreed to the terms to take responsibility for his part in the “stupid” crime and to gain some amount of certainty for his future.

Superior Court Judge Steven M. Houran gave Ferguson more than a year's credit for his pre-trial confinement.

Papile clubbed Dittmeyer in the head to rob her of drugs and money, according to prosecutors. He threw Dittmeyer's body into the pond after he said he found she had no pulse. Papile, 29, of Ossipee was sentenced last month to 50 years to life.

Ferguson's attorney, John M. Clothier of Center Harbor, said his client “really didn't know the extent of what he was helping out with,” when he agreed to assist in the robbery by picking up Papile, his former boss, at Mount Cranmore's athletic complex.

Ferguson apologized to Dittmeyer's family members, who were in the courtroom.

Michael Petelis, 29, of Ossipee, has not been sentenced. Like Ferguson, he is charged with conspiracy to commit robbery.

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Paula Tracy may be reached at ptracy@unionleader.com.