Web posted
Friday, March 7, 2008
Jury convicts in Whiteman murder case
By JOSHUA AMES
Courier Staff Writer
A Wichita man accused of fatally shooting his wife in August was convicted of first-degree murder on Feb. 29, in the death of Amy Whiteman, a former Cowley County resident.
Reginald Johnson, 38, was found guilty last Friday afternoon after a Sedgwick County district jury deliberated for about six hours to reach the verdict.
Amy Whiteman, 36, died from four shotgun wounds in the couple's Wichita home on Aug. 20, 2007. The couple's 10-year-old son was playing in the yard at the time of the murder. Whiteman is a former resident of Cambridge. She graduated from Central of Burden High School in 1989.
Sedgwick County Deputy District Attorney Anne Swegle, who prosecuted the case, pointed out at the trial that the manner in which Whiteman died showed a deliberate and premeditated act.
"Whiteman was shot once for each time she cheated," Swegle said, according to published reports.
Johnson testified at his trial that he shot his wife of 11 years after discovering that she was seeing another man and then blacked out and didn't remember shooting her.
He originally told police that his wife had admitted, in graphic detail to being with another man four times. According to public defender, Ken Newton, that admission sent Johnson into a blind rage.
Newton encouraged the jury to consider reducing the charge to voluntary manslaughter on the basis of Johnson's acting in "heat of passion."
Swegle then said a string of text messages and cell phone calls made throughout the time when the incident occurred indicated that Johnson was conscious and knowledgeable during the shooting.
Sentencing for Johnson will be April 4 at the Sedgwick County District Court before District Judge Rebecca Pilshaw.
Georgia Cole, communications director for the Sedgwick County District Attorney's Office, said the first-degree murder conviction automatically guarantees Johnson a 25-year stint in prison. The earliest Johnson could see freedom is 2033.
"In the state of Kansas it is a mandatory life sentence, with 25 years before parole eligibility," said Cole.
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