BLUEFIELD, W.Va. — A Mercer County mother was sentenced to spend more than seven years in prison for killing another mother during an argument following an altercation between their daughters.
Judy Kowaleski-Slagle, 43, of Brushfork, pleaded guilty in January to voluntary manslaughter after shooting 42-year-old Elizabeth Slagle during a fight last March in Brushfork. She was originally charged with murder.
The two women exchanged heated phone calls and text messages on March 28, 2013, after their daughters had an altercation on a school bus. The mothers met up and Kowaleski-Slagle fired a shot that killed Slagle. When police arrived, Kowaleski-Slagle was attempting to perform CPR on the victim.
Kowaleski-Slagle apologized during Monday’s sentencing hearing and maintained the shooting was an accident.
Mercer County Circuit Judge William Sadler sentenced her to seven and a half years in prison and gave her credit for time served.