Houston: An American millionaire has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for shooting dead his wife at their Florida residence in 2009.
Bob Ward, 64, was convicted of second-degree murder by judge Jenifer Davis and he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in prison.
Ward declined to address the court prior to his sentencing, but several family members and friends provided impact statements.
"Justice for my mom isn't locking my dad behind bars for the rest of his life, it's giving our family a second chance," Ward's daughter, Mallory said, calling her mother Diane Ward's death a "tragic accident."
State experts calculated that Diane was shot in the face from a distance of 18 inches, and testified that it would have been impossible for her to do that.
Prosecutors said she had not seemed suicidal in conversations that day with friends and family, and had just opened a Facebook account.
Bob Ward was reported to have been under stress from business bankruptcy and home foreclosure at the time of the shooting.
Isleworth, where the couple lived, is a gated subdivision near Orlando known for a car accident involving Tiger Woods, in 2009. Woods' accident had triggered the revelation of his several extramarital affairs and subsequently resulted in his divorce.
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