A Lumberton woman was sentenced to four years in prison for the Oct. 2017 fatal shooting of her husband.
A Jefferson County jury found Taylor, 71, guilty of murder Thursday, Nov. 29 in the death of Larry Atwood, 58. Police testified they believe Atwood was her common law husband. The two had been in a relationship for several years, according to the probable cause affidavit.
Taylor chose not to be sentenced by a jury. She was sentenced by Criminal District Court Judge John Stevens. A jury could have sentenced her to life in prison.
She will be eligible for parole in two years.
Taylor's trial started Monday. Her defense attorney Ryan Gertz argued that she acted out of self-defense after Atwood attempted to suffocate her.
“The reality is abusive relationships are not simple," Gertz said. "They are not just let’s look at it in a vacuum, let’s look at this one picture."
“You have to look at the fact that often times people go back to their abusers, that’s common place, that happens all the time,” Gertz said.
Taylor's son David Walters said she came to his house with bruises and cuts all over her face the day of the shooting.
He said his mother told him she shot Atwood because he was hitting her head on the dashboard and trying to suffocate her. He told the jury Atwood has a reputation for beating women and even confronted him in the past about hurting his mom. He also said his mother was involved in previous abusive relationships.
Prosecutor Mike Laird showed the jury a picture of the gun with three bullets missing.
He implied that Taylor was not as innocent as she seems. He said she had attacked and even shot at Atwood in the past.
