KANSAS CITY—A Kansas City-area woman was sentenced Friday to 20 years in prison for the fatal shooting in July 2021 of her boyfriend, Ryan Wheeler, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.
A Jackson County judge sentenced 27-year-old Katie L. Black to 17 years after she pleaded guilty to Murder 2nd Degree, Armed Criminal Action and Tampering With Electronic Monitoring Equipment.
A judge sentenced her to 17 years on the Murder 2nd conviction, 3 years on the Armed Criminal Action conviction and 5 years on the Tampering With Electronic Monitoring Equipment conviction. The first two sentences were set to run consecutive to each other and the third was set to run concurrent to the first, for a total of 20 years.
According to court records, on July 7, 2021, Jackson County sheriff's deputies were dispatched to Atherton Sibley Road on a reported shooting. Deputies found Black at the scene while emergency responders cared for the Wheeler, who was taken to the hospital.
Black told detectives she had accidentally shot her boyfriend. But eventually she stated they were arguing when she fired a shot to scare him. Then, she fired a second shot that struck him.