EUGENE, Ore. -- The man accused of murdering a Springfield woman with a rock will serve 10 years in prison, although he did not admit guilt in his plea agreement with prosecutors.

Carl Meadows, 39, faced murder charges in the death of Tricia Jo Meadows, 54, who was bound bludgeoned to death with a rock last January in Springfield, Ore.

The two are not related, but did know each other, according to statements made in court Tuesday morning.

Carl Meadows entered an Alford plea to first degree manslaughter charges. An Alford plea means Carl Meadows did not admit guilt but conceded prosecutors could likely convince a judge or jury that he had committed the crime.

Prosecutor Erik Hasselman says Carl Meadows killed the victim, without a doubt, but there were "proof problems" with the case.

Hasselman says Trica Meadows' blood was found on Carl Meadows shirt and his DNA was found on two cigarette butts in the victim's apartment. 

However, a defense witness planned to testify Carl Meadows' girlfriend confessed to the murder.  She implicated Meadows in the murder.  Hasselman says the girlfriend passed a lie detector test, but those results are inadmissable in Oregon courts.

"As such we couldn't ignore that what the jury would hear in this case was not all the evidence that we had available to us," said Hasselman. 

Mike Stanley, Tricia Meadows' son, said the family has mixed feelings about the sentencing and plea deal. 

"Iit certainly doesn't seem fair for the crime that we believe he committed," said Stanley. 

When prosecutors discussed a possible plea deal with the family, Stanley said the family supported the idea.  "I felt pretty quickly, unfortunately, that this was the right decision." 

Stanley says the family is pleased with the work the Lane County District Attorney's Office and Springfield Police did on the case.

In court Tuesday, Carl Meadows proclaimed he was innocent, and expressed condolences to Tricia Meadows' family.

His attorney, Terrance Gough, says his client took the plea deal because a conviction would have meant a 44 year, 10 month prison sentence.

"I don't believe he would have lost, I believe at worst it would have been a hung jury," said Gough.  "But I couldn't ask a man to risk the rest of his life."