MIlwaukee Circuit Judge

MILWAUKEE (AP) - A judge on Tuesday criticized a businessman for blaming his wife's stabbing death on two black youths and sentenced him to at least 60 years in prison for the murder.

"We see no remorse, we see no true feelings," said Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Michael Guolee. "He should be on his knees praying to God for forgiveness."

Jesse Anderson, 35, who declined to testify during his eight-day trial, said he was treated unfairly by the judge and jury and vowed to continue pursuing the assailants he contended killed his wife.

An all-white jury convicted Anderson of murder on Aug. 13 after deliberating about nine hours. He was sentenced Tuesday to life with the possibility of parole after 60 years.

The life sentence was mandatory, but Guolee had the option to decide how long Anderson would have to serve before becoming eligible for parole. The defense urged the judge to set eligibility at the legal minimum, 13 years.

Guolee, who spoke for about an hour, said a remorseless Anderson had preyed upon "fear and racism" when he stabbed himself three times in the chest and blamed the attack on two black men.

Anderson contended the couple was assaulted April 21 during a robbery attempt. His wife, Barbara, 33, died two days later of wounds she suffered to her face and brain.

"We will not allow you to ever be on the streets again," Guolee told Anderson. "You should die in prison. You should never be among us again."

Mrs. Anderson's relatives, who clapped and cheered when Anderson was convicted in August, made brief statements to the judge, urging him to keep Anderson in prison the rest of his life.

"This man should never be free again," said Kevin Lynch, Mrs. Anderson's 27-year-old brother. "He robbed my family of a beautiful person, he robbed his children of a beautiful mother."

The couple's three children are staying with Mrs. Anderson's relatives.

Anderson did not testify during the eight-day trial. He said Tuesday he was deprived of a fair trial because jurors were biased after hearing excessive publicity about the case.

He also said the judge should have barred as evidence a letter in which Mrs. Anderson described being beaten by her husband in 1987 and said he continually talked about divorce.

"I've been made a scapegoat in a farce that some people call a trial," he said. "In a fair and impartial trial, my innocence would have been proven."

Anderson, who broke down crying during the statement, said he and his wife had "a good and healthy relationship."

"The killers took my wife and tried to kill me," he said. "I will never stop looking for these two men."

Witnesses during the eight-day trial told jurors that Anderson bought a red-handled fishing knife that killed Mrs. Anderson, and that he also purchased a cap that he said the assailants left behind.

A dog hair found on the cap matched hairs found in the Andersons' car and home.

The slaying recalled the highly publicized 1989 murder case in Boston that also involved an upper middle-class white couple. Charles Stuart told police that he and his pregnant wife, Carol, were shot by a black man. She and the baby died.

Police conducted an extensive dragnet in black neighborhoods, but eventually concluded that Stuart killed his wife to collect $300,000 in life insurance. He apparently jumped to his death from a bridge after learning he was a suspect.

AP-CS-09-29-92 1622EDT