ZIONSVILLE, Ind., Dec. 17 (UPI) -- A 32-year-old man will spend 43 years in prison for bludgeoning his ex-wife to death thanks to plea deal, prosecutors in Boone County, Ind., said Thursday.
Prosecutors told The Indianapolis Star that Michael Stayer agreed to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter and neglect of a dependent for the June 11 death of his former wife, Beth.
Prosecutors said the plea deal, which came after Stayer was initially charged with six criminal counts including murder, was intended in part to spare the couple's 5-year-old son, Carson, from being forced to testify.
Authorities allege the young boy was in his mother's apartment when his father fatally beat her with a hammer and a tire iron.
"We're in conversations with the boy's therapist and family, and we want to talk to them before we do anything," Boone County prosecutor Todd Meyer said last week. "We want to see justice done, but in no way do we want to further traumatize little Carson."
Prosecutors suspected Stayer stalked and threatened his former wife prior to her death. The couple was divorced nearly two months before the June killing, the Star reported.
