A Pelham, N.C., man will spend 17 years in prison after pleading guilty to the Jan. 14, 2008, murder of his wife.
Major Woody Myers, 42, called 911 after the incident, authorities reported at the time, but left the scene before police arrived.
Police arrived at the couple's Arch Cook Road home to find Darlene Myers face down on the kitchen floor with a gunshot wound to the back of her head. She was still alive when emergency workers arrived and was airlifted to Duke University Medical Center, where she died about 90 minutes later.
Prior to the shooting, Major Myers was firing a gun into the woods from his backyard. The neighbor told police he warned Myers that someone could be shot. The neighbor told authorities Myers then threatened to shoot him.
Darlene Myers returned home, and an argument began between her and her husband, according to the initial incident report. A witness told police he saw Major Myers run out of the residence and leave shortly before police arrived.
Major Myers was located and charged with first-degree murder. He pleaded not guilty and faced a jury trial that began Feb. 16.
Joel Brewer, the district attorney for Caswell and Person counties, said Myers contended his wife's death was an accident, the shooting was not planned and he and his wife had been arguing prior to the incident.
"We showed under cross-examination that his explanation was pretty ridiculous," Brewer said.
Once the cross-examination ended Feb. 18, Brewer said, Myers changed his plea to guilty of second-degree murder.
"The jury could have returned a sentence of first-degree or second-degree murder or involuntary manslaughter or not guilty," Brewer said. "He was afraid of a life sentence for first-degree (murder)."
North Carolina courts base sentence lengths on a number of factors, including the prior criminal record of the defendant. Brewer said Myers' prior record was not extensive but did include a 1994 charge for assaulting his wife with a deadly weapon.
Brewer said the 17-year sentence was at the high end of sentencing guidelines for second-degree murder but felt it was a just punishment.
"He pled guilty to what he did," Brewer said.
• Contact Denice Thibodeau at dthibodeau@registerbee.com or (434) 791-7985.
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