Man given 15 years in death of his wife at Lexington motel

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) – A man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison in the 2014 death of his wife at a western Lexington motel.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reports 39-year-old Michael Wayne Crowe was sentenced Thursday after pleading guilty to first-degree manslaughter for the death of 34-year-old Felicia Walker. Crowe had initially been charged with murder.

A motel employee found Walker’s body inside the motel room on May 3, 2014. Witnesses told police they had heard screaming and sounds of fighting coming from the room.

On Wednesday, Fayette Circuit Judge James Ishmael Jr. denied a defense motion to have Crowe deemed a victim of domestic violence.

Ishmael said that although Crowe was subjected to verbal abuse by his wife he wasn’t convinced that the abuse rose to the level of domestic violence.

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Information from: Lexington Herald-Leader, http://www.kentucky.com

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