El Cajon
An El Cajon electrician was sentenced Friday to 17 years to life in state prison for killing his wife on the couple’s 23rd wedding anniversary.
Richard Lee Shaputis, 50, also was fined $500 by San Diego Superior Court Judge William Kennedy.
Shaputis was convicted last month of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of his wife, Erma Shaputis, 47, last Jan. 24 in the couple’s home.
During the trial, Shaputis claimed that the shooting was an accident that occurred after he had been drinking, saying that his wife got in the way of a shot that he fired toward a fireplace.
On the night of the shooting, however, Shaputis himself called police, telling a dispatcher that he had killed his wife following a fight. Shaputis later testified that the couple had not fought prior to the shooting.
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