HAMILTON, Mont. (AP) - A Montana woman who said she was repeatedly abused by her husband before fatally shooting him was sentenced to a suspended 20-year commitment to the Montana Department of Corrections.
Joanne Evelyn Campbell, 61, of Hamilton, was originally charged with deliberate homicide in the death of Robert Keller. The charge was dropped to negligent homicide in a plea deal.
Campbell said she went to police to report prior and ongoing physical abuse by her husband on the night of Dec. 28, 2019, but she left the station before filing a formal statement. About a half-hour later, she called 911 to report the shooting.
Campbell told police she had returned home and was sitting on her bed in the couple’s living room when Keller entered an adjacent hallway and began yelling at her. Campbell said she pulled a handgun from under the bed, struggled to cock it and then shot Keller.
Her attorney, Nick Brooke, said the alleged abuse had been escalating and Campbell was still alive only because she accidentally pulled the trigger.
Shortly before the shooting, Keller had agreed to a plea deal that dismissed felony kidnapping charges from a June 2019 incident, during which Campbell yelled for help from a moving truck. Charging documents in that case said Campbell told officers she wanted to get out several times, but Keller grabbed her and pulled her back into the truck. She told a sheriff’s deputy she was afraid of Keller because of previous assaults.
Ravalli County District Court Judge Jennifer Lint added a $5,000 fine to be paid over the 20-year sentence.
“I think the plea agreement is appropriate,” Lint said. “Whatever the dynamic was in that house led to these tragic events, I don’t think in general Miss Campbell is a threat to the public. So I think a long probationary tail is appropriate and well-fitting for the circumstances of this case.”
Please read our comment policy before commenting.