A woman who shot her husband to death while he slept in their Sweet Valley home four years ago was sentenced to spend 12 to 24 years in prison after being deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial.
Josephine Werkheiser, 56, received her sentence in Luzerne County Court on Monday from Judge William H. Amesbury after she pleaded guilty but mentally ill to the killing of her husband, Charles, on July 23, 2007.
She receives credit for having served four years and 36 days in jail, and her mental status will be evaluated on a continuing basis, the judge said in the sentencing order.
Amesbury said he considered her age, her previously clean criminal record and her mental status when deciding on a sentence.
After shooting her husband with a .22-caliber handgun, Werkheiser also shot herself in the head. She survived with diminished capacities.
She is legally blind, her motor skills have been affected and she probably would require assisted living or help of relatives if she ever is released from prison, her attorneys said in memorandum submitted to the court before her sentencing.
Before passing the sentence, the judge also read statements from five relatives of the victim who described how they were affected by Charles Werkheiser's death.
On Monday, one of his brothers and one sister spoke in court.
His sister, Lynn, said she felt like she failed to keep a promise made to their dying mother that she would look after Charles, the youngest of five children.
Werkheiser's public defenders William Ruzzo and Cheryl Sobeski-Reedy requested a sentence of five years, whereas the prosecution team of Assistant District Attorneys Molly Hanlon Mirabito and Michelle Hardik sought a minimum sentence of 20 years.
Mirabito said Werkheiser's suicide attempt shows she was conscious of her guilt.
Sobeski-Reedy said Werkheiser has no memory of the shooting. From what Werkheiser has read, she accepts guilt, a position she took when apologizing to her husband's family on Monday, Sobeski-Reedy said.
Werkheiser said she loved Charles and never meant to hurt him.
The state Department of Corrections will determine the appropriate place for Werkheiser to serve her sentence.
Since her arrest, she has spent time in the Luzerne County Correctional Facility and the Norristown State Hospital.
The judge required that Werkheiser continue to receive mental evaluations so she will have access to medications and other treatment that she needs.
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