Tennessee – In a shocking case in Tennessee, a 21-year-old man, identified as Shawn W., was sentenced on Monday after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of his mother, identified as Sandy W. Sandy was found deceased in her bed on April 20, 2020, having suffered gunshot wounds to the left side of her head. Authorities say the weapon used belonged to Sandy and had been kept on her nightstand. Shawn was just 16 years old when he carried out the killing, and prosecutors reduced what would have been a first-degree murder charge in exchange for the plea.
Sheriff’s office deputies discovered Sandy’s body in her home. Deputies learned that Shawn called his girlfriend soon after the shooting, telling her he had found his mother in bed and covered in blood. When the girlfriend’s father arrived, he checked on Sandy and, realizing she was unresponsive, called the police. During the subsequent investigation, it became clear that Shawn had provided “numerous conflicting stories,” but detectives persisted, and in May 2020, he confessed in detail to detectives.
According to a court petition, Shawn admitted that while his mother was asleep, he removed her gun from her nightstand, took it downstairs to load it quietly, then returned to her bedroom. He positioned himself by her bed and shot her at close range. Earlier that evening, a dispute had erupted because Sandy had taken away Shawn’s cellphone—something he “protested,” but she ended the confrontation by going upstairs to sleep. Feeling anger and frustration over losing phone privileges, Shawn carried out the killing. Following his plea, Shawn was sentenced to 30 years in state prison. Tennessee’s sentencing guidelines typically permit parole after serving a portion of the term, often around 10 years. However, prosecutors specified he must serve 100% of his sentence for the crime he carried out…