Hartford City man gets 10 years for attempted slaying of wife
HARTFORD CITY, Ind. — A Hartford City man charged with trying to kill his wife was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison.
Kevin E. Kearney, 45, had pleaded guilty to attempted voluntary manslaughter, a Level 2 felony carrying up to 30 years in prison.
On Thursday, Blackford Circuit Court Judge Brian Bade imposed a 25-year sentence — 10 years of incarceration followed by 15 years on probation.
Kearney received credit for 552 days already spent in the Blackford County jail.
On July 9, 2022, a Hartford City police officer reported seeing a man — later identified as Kearney — in Hoover Parker struggling with a woman, holding a handgun to her chest and "making a squeezing motion and dipping as it squeezed, indicating attempts to fire."
The woman told police Kearney had earlier pointed the firearm at her head and said the gun had malfunctioned when he tried to shoot her.
Kearney was also accused of pointing his gun at a witness who helped disarm him.
A plea agreement signed by Kearney — a former Muncie resident — called for dismissal of five other charges, attempted murder and two counts each of intimidation and pointing a firearm.
Kearney's divorce from his would-be victim became final in March 2023.
In other court news:
Sex offender charged: A convicted sex offender faces a felony charge after she allegedly failed to let Blackford County authorities know she had moved.
Amanda M. Meyer, 34, was charged Thursday in Blackford Superior Court with failure to register as a sex or violent offender, a Level 6 felony carrying up to 30 months in prison.
According to court documents, Meyer didn't notify the Blackford County Sheriff's Department when she moved from a friend's Hartford City home to a room in a local motel.
Meyer reportedly told investigators she was "embarrassed to live in a motel and didn't want people to view her as a failure."
The Hartford City woman was convicted of sexual misconduct with a minor in Jay County in 2013. She is required to register with authorities in communities where she lives and works through June 2025.
Douglas Walker is a news reporter for The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Failed bid to kill wife sends Hartford City man to prison for 10 years
