NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) - A New Haven man convicted of fatally stabbing a man 51 times in his apartment three years ago is headed to prison.

New Haven Register reports 47-year-old Semmion Watson was sentenced Thursday to 45 years behind bars for the Oct. 5, 2013 death of 44-year-old Anthony Stevenson Sr. A three-judge panel in September found Watson guilty of murder and selling narcotics.

Police say Watson had admitted that Stevenson came to his apartment to buy drugs. But the judges didn't accept Watson's claims that Stevenson came after him with a knife and stabbed him after the two got into an argument, citing the nature and extent of the wounds suffered by both men.

The defense says Watson maintains he acted in self-defense.