Woman gets life in 2012 killing after rejecting plea deal

LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas City woman who rejected a plea deal that would have freed her if she admitted that she killed her husband in 2012 has been sentenced to life in prison. The Kansas City Star reports that Clay County Judge Shane Alexander sentenced Viola Bowman on Wednesday for first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the fatal shooting of 53-year-old Albert “Rusty” Bowman. She was convicted by a jury in September. Viola Bowman has steadfastly maintained her innocence, and in court Wednesday she again denied killing her husband. An appeal is planned. She was accused of shooting her husband in the couple’s home to collect a life insurance policy and then making it look like there had been a break-in.