GUILTY OH - Robert McKernan, 29, shot to death, Massillon, 31 Dec 2014
- Thread starter rosie_lee
- Start date
http://www.cantonrep.com/news/20170317/update-mckernan-could-serve-3-12-years-under-plea-deal
CANTON Colleen McKernan remained composed, with no visible emotion on her face, while pleading guilty Friday to a reduced charge for the shooting death of her husband in 2014.
Led out of the courtroom in handcuffs, she avoided another round of trial testimony without having to relive what happened the night she shot her husband 10 times following a night of drinking and arguing in what those who knew them described as a contentious eight-month marriage.
[...]
By admitting to voluntary manslaughter as part of a plea agreement, the 29-year-old Stark County woman was sentenced by Common Pleas Judge Chryssa Hartnett to seven years in prison with a chance for early release on the condition she follows prison rules.
The plea agreement avoids a third trial for McKernan. Two previous juries could not reach a unanimous verdict on the crucial question: Did McKernan shoot her husband, Rob, in self-defense or was it a ruthless slaying?
At the two murder trials, McKernan testified that she had been abused in the past by her husband and was protecting her own life the night she fatally shot him in their Massillon home.
It took about 35 minutes on Friday to conclude a legal saga that has spanned more than two years and two trials, each lasting about two weeks. A third trial was set to begin on April 3. The case has garnered national media attention, including from a crew with the TV news program "48 Hours" that returned to the Stark County Courthouse for Friday's proceeding.
CANTON Colleen McKernan remained composed, with no visible emotion on her face, while pleading guilty Friday to a reduced charge for the shooting death of her husband in 2014.
Led out of the courtroom in handcuffs, she avoided another round of trial testimony without having to relive what happened the night she shot her husband 10 times following a night of drinking and arguing in what those who knew them described as a contentious eight-month marriage.
[...]
By admitting to voluntary manslaughter as part of a plea agreement, the 29-year-old Stark County woman was sentenced by Common Pleas Judge Chryssa Hartnett to seven years in prison with a chance for early release on the condition she follows prison rules.
The plea agreement avoids a third trial for McKernan. Two previous juries could not reach a unanimous verdict on the crucial question: Did McKernan shoot her husband, Rob, in self-defense or was it a ruthless slaying?
At the two murder trials, McKernan testified that she had been abused in the past by her husband and was protecting her own life the night she fatally shot him in their Massillon home.
It took about 35 minutes on Friday to conclude a legal saga that has spanned more than two years and two trials, each lasting about two weeks. A third trial was set to begin on April 3. The case has garnered national media attention, including from a crew with the TV news program "48 Hours" that returned to the Stark County Courthouse for Friday's proceeding.
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