Man sentenced to prison for 2012 shooting death

NEW MADRID, Mo. -- A man will serve 15 years in prison in connection with the a woman's 2012 shooting death.

Timothy D. Richmond was sentenced to seven years in the Missouri Department of Corrections on a charge of first-degree involuntary manslaughter and eight years on a charge of armed criminal action. Judge Fred Copeland ordered the sentences to run consecutively.

Richmond pleaded guilty to the charges, reduced from second-degree murder, in the May 5, 2012, shooting death of Maria Slavings.

In a probable cause statement, Richmond initially told investigators he was outside when he heard a gunshot and ran inside to find Slavings bleeding. Later he said the two were playing with a .22-caliber rifle when she put it in her mouth and pulled the trigger.

Pertinent address:

New Madrid, MO