A CONVICTED MURDERER is sentenced to 26 years to life in prison (Shutterstock).

A sentence of 26 years to life has been imposed on a man convicted in July of fatally stabbing his girlfriend in a Garden Grove motel in 2021.

According the Orange County District Attorney’s office, Kennedy Anthony Audain, 55, received his sentence on Friday.

KENNEDY ANTHONY AUDAIN (OCDA photo).

He was convicted of first-degree murder with an sentencing enhancement for the personal use of knife and is ineligible for probation.

Audain was convicted of stabbing Leticia Mahe of Santa Ana, 50, at a Motel 6 at 12091 Trask Ave., on July 14, 2021 at about 5:45 a.m.

Mahe called 911 and told police that her boyfriend was holding her captive at knifepoint.

Arriving police saw through a window Audain acting strangely and then observed flames in the room.  Officers were able to enter the room with a master key and arrested Audain, whose clothes were stained with blood.

Multiple stab wounds had been inflicted on Mahe and she was pronounced dead at the hotel.

Audain had been on probation from two previous convictions at the time of the stabbing.