A Middletown man convicted in the 2018 slaying of a Hartford teacher was sentenced to 57 years in prison in Superior Court on Friday.

Judge Vernon Oliver of Middletown Superior Court sentenced Cornel Myers, 39, to 57 years in prison for the Sept. 8, 2018, murder of his ex-girlfriend, 29-year-old Danielle Fasciocco. A jury convicted Myers on Nov. 4.

Fasciocco, a Middletown resident, was a beloved fifth-grade teacher at Hartford’s Betances STEM Magnet School.

Myers stabbed Fasciocco to death in her apartment. According to court evidence, Myers entered Fasciocco’s Middletown home at 10:20 p.m. on Sept. 7, 2018, and attacked her with a knife, slashing her throat and inflicting numerous stab wounds.

At 3:30 a.m. the next day, Myers called 911 to report her death, telling police he found Fasciocco covered in blood in her bedroom when he let himself into her apartments at 3 a.m.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, responding officers found Myers with dried blood on his clothes and body. Police also found bloody knives at the scene, one in the bedroom and one in a trashcan, and blood in the kitchen.

Hours before her death, Fasciocco told a co-worker that she was considering placing a restraining order on Myers, according to reports at the time.

A statement from the Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice said that “During the last three days of her life, the victim repeatedly told Myers to leave her alone and, ultimately, refused to take his calls or respond to his texts.”

According to the arrest warrant affidavit, three weeks earlier police were called to Fasciocco’s apartment after her breakup with Myers. Fasciocco told police Myers had shown up to her home more than 10 times and sent her “thousands of text messages.” The affidavit said Fasciocco “did not want to have any more contact with Myers,” who, at the time, lived in the same apartment complex across the street from Fasciocco.

On the night of her death, a neighbor called police to report an argument at Fasciocco’s apartment at 10:30 p.m. According to the affidavit, officers responded to the scene and knocked on Fasciocco’s door but did not get a response.

“This case shows the devastating effect domestic violence can have not only on the victim but also on the victim’s family members and friends,” said State’s Attorney Michael Gailor, who prosecuted the case alongside Assistant State’s Attorney Jason Germain. “We would like to thank the victim’s family members and friends for their patience during the prosecution and the Middletown Police Department and the Connecticut State Police for their work on the investigation.”

According to her obituary, Fasciocco grew up in Havertown, Pa. She graduated in 2011 from the University of Hartford and soon after took a teaching job at Hartford’s Betances STEM Magnet School.

“Danielle was very passionate about her students and teaching. She loved her deaf dog Nova and her two cats. When she came home to Havertown she loved TV binge watching with her siblings. She enjoyed vacationing with family and friends, the beach, cooking, farmers markets, Starbucks, crafts and her favorite band was Pearl Jam,” the obituary reads.

An online tribute wall contains dozens of comments from former students, family and friends detailing Fasciocco’s humor, kindness and boundless impact.

“She touched me in a dramatic way and changed my life and made me enjoy school like no teacher ever had,” wrote one student from Fasciocco’s 2012 class after finding out about her death in 2021. “I graduated and hated every minute of it, but not with her, she made me love going to school … the best year was the one I had with her and anybody that ever got to know her is lucky.”