A week before 33-year-old Jason Beck was stabbed to death in the kitchen of his Norwich apartment in 2020, his former boyfriend Jeffrey Stovall left a threatening message that foreshadowed what was to come.

“If you call police I will kill you,” Stovall told Beck, according to Assistant State’s Attorney Christa Baker.

The newly-revealed message was part of the evidence gathered during the four years that Stovall’s criminal case was pending. For Beck’s family, the call was further evidence that Beck, described by many as a gentle soul, was trapped in relationship marked by domestic violence.

Stovall, 27, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for Beck’s death on Thursday in an emotionally-charged New London courtroom filled with members of Beck’s family and friends. Stovall had previously pleaded guilty to murder and violation of a protective order as part of a plea agreement to avoid a trial and the possibility of a stiffer sentence.

Beck’s family and friends on Thursday reminisced about his quirky and fun-loving personality, sense of humor and kindness. They talked about the pain of losing him.

Jeanette Kenney, Beck’s mother, said she wakes up every day thinking about her son, the happy last day they spent together and the visit by two Norwich police officers on the night of Jan 18, 2020, the day her son was murdered.

“My heart was in my throat and I could hardly breathe,” Kenney recalled. “I can’t believe it’s been almost four years he was taken from me.”

On the night of Jan. 18, 2020, Beck had called 911 from his Sandy Lane apartment to report he was being stabbed. While he was on the phone with them, police said Beck pleaded with Stovall to stop. Stovall later admitted to the stabbing.

At the time of the stabbing, Stovall was subject to a protective order preventing him from contacting Beck because of a prior domestic abuse arrest. The two had continued to meet, however, and on the night of the murder they had argued about Stovall’s accusations that Beck had not helped him enough in his pending court case.

When Beck threatened to call police, police said Stovall stabbed him in the chest multiple times. Beck died at the hospital shortly after the attack.

Beck’s stepfather, Edward Kenney, called Beck “the gentlest soul I have ever met.”

Edward Kenney said while Stovall presents as soft spoken and demure, it turns out he was manipulative and controlling.

Kurt Beck, Jason Beck’s father, in a letter read in the courtroom on Thursday, said recently uncovered texts and messages show Stovall was threatening and abusive despite attempts by defense to claim the opposite.

Beck said the couple lived with him in Watertown while they were dating and he had witnessed Stovall being verbally and physically abusive, controlling and jealous.

“There was a clear pattern of abuse in which Jeff was the aggressor and Jason was the victim,” Beck wrote.

Stovall stood in silence while Beck’s relatives spoke and did not react when one family called him a “(expletive) murderer.”

He also wrote a letter apologizing for the murder. His defense attorney, Kevin Barrs, read the letter in which Stovall expressed sadness and remorse.

“I pray to God for forgiveness,” Stovall wrote. “You have no idea how much I hate myself for it.”

Stovall and Beck had first met on a dating website when Stovall was just 15 years old. Family said Beck broke off the relationship after finding out Stovall’s age but later reconnected.

Barrs said Stovall’s psychological issues led to his long term abuse of Xanax, an anti-anxiety drug that can lead to problems that include anxiety, depression, paranoia and aggression.

g.smith@theday.com