Topekan killed a woman then announced it on Facebook Live. He was sentenced to 25-plus years.

A Topekan who announced in a Facebook Live broadcast two years ago that he'd just killed someone received the maximum possible sentence Thursday for intentional second-degree murder in her death.

Shawnee County District Judge David Debenham sentenced 49-year-old Charles M. Wilson II to a total of 25 years, three months in prison on convictions for crimes linked to the May 2020 gunshot death in North Topeka of 53-year-old Lisa R. Hill.

Debenham passed sentence after hearing Deputy Shawnee County District Attorney Lauren Amrein stress that Wilson showed no remorse after killing Hill, telling a Topeka police detective it made him feel good and that he would do it again.

Before being arrested, Wilson posted on Facebook that he "just killed someone," court records show.

Hill's mother, Malena Demers, said Wilson appeared in a Facebook Live broadcast soon after killing her daughter in which he demonstrated "how he did it."

Wilson's defense attorney, Shaye Downing, asked Debenham to take into account that Wilson was under the influence of narcotics at the time and now feels great remorse.

Tears rolled down Wilson's cheeks as he told Debenham he didn't understand what happened.

"I think about it every day, 24 hours a day," he said. "There's nothing I can do to change it."

Judge tells defendant drugs don't excuse 'horrific crime'

But Debenham told Wilson he'd committed a "horrific crime" and being high on narcotics at the time "doesn't give you a free ride."

He sentenced Wilson to 23 years, nine months, the maximum Kansas Sentencing Guidelines sentence available for a person with his criminal record, on his conviction for second-degree murder.

Debenham then sentenced Wilson to one year on separate convictions for aggravated assault and six months for aggravated child endangerment. He ordered the sentences to run consecutively.

Wilson, an inmate at the Shawnee County Jail, will get credit for 749 days he's already served, Debenham said.

Demers said Hill died less than 24 hours after the burial of her first-born son, Joseph R. Hill, 26, who was  fatally shot on April 24, 2020, in the 1200 block of N.E. Quincy.

Vincent D. Gonzalez-Rook, 24, is set to be tried Sept. 26 in that case on charges that include intentional second-degree murder.

Michael Darian Lloyd Flores, 27, faces charges in the case that include involuntary manslaughter. His next court hearing is a status conference set for July 7.

No criminal charges had been filed in connection with Joseph R. Hill's killing at the time of his mother's death.

Victim was 'proud sober member' of Narcotics Anonymous

Court records indicated another person brought Wilson on May 7, 2020, to Hill's home at 1132 N.W. Central Ave. after she heard he had information about her son's death and sought to talk to him about it.

The two appeared to be having a "normal conversation" until Wilson, who appeared high on narcotics and was carrying a handgun, started arguing with Hill, court records say.

Hill herself was a "proud sober member" of Narcotics Anonymous, according to her obituary.

Authorities allege Wilson fatally shot Hill in the head, left the house, then pointed the handgun at children before going to his home at 1225 N.E. Quincy, where he started a broadcast on Facebook Live.

Police called to Hill's home and found her body there at 3:47 p.m. that day, said District Attorney Mike Kagay.

Wilson then became the subject of a police standoff at his home, where he exited the building and was taken into custody at 6:19 p.m., Kagay said.

'Life without my daughter is empty, lonely and with no joy'

Wilson was the only person who spoke on his behalf at Thursday's hearing.

Demers and one of Hill's two surviving sons, Noah Belt, talked about how her death has traumatized their lives.

"There are no more hugs, no more sweet kisses, no more 'I love yous,'" Demers said.

"Life without my daughter is empty, lonely and with no joy," she added. "I wake up in the morning and go through the motions of life. She is never far from my thoughts."

Belt told Debenham, "Lisa Hill, my mother, was the most wonderful person that I've ever met in my entire life."

Lisa Hill approached life with a "glass half full" perspective, and always thought she could make the world better with her actions, Belt added.

"The day that she died, a piece of me died," he said.

Tim Hrenchir can be reached at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Charles M. Wilson II gets maximum sentence for murder of Lisa R. Hill