Man sentenced to life without parole in girlfriend’s killing
KINGSTON, Tenn. (AP) – A Roane County jury has sentenced a man accused of fatally shooting his ex-girlfriend to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Local news outlets report that the jury sentenced 44-year-old Shawn Smoot on Thursday, one day after finding him guilty of first-degree murder.
Smoot had been accused of fatally shooting his ex-girlfriend, 23-year-old Brooke Nicole Morris, on a rural Roane County road in 2011. Lead prosecutor Tiffany Starr Smith says Smoot shot Morris in the neck, chest and back of the head after leaving a West Knoxville bar with her.
Smoot’s court-appointed attorney, Bob Jolley, says Smoot plans to appeal the decision. A hearing on a motion for retrial is set for Jan. 10, 2017.
