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Missouri man sentenced to life in prison for killing fiancé

Posted at 11:35 AM, Jul 13, 2021
and last updated 2021-07-13 12:35:57-04

COLUMBIA, Mo. — A Missouri man has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for the shooting death of a woman he planned to marry, despite already having a wife and child.

James Addie, of Sante Fe, Missouri, was sentenced Monday in Cole County Circuit Court for the 2018 death of his fiancé, 35-year-old Molly Watson, station KOMU-TV reported. Addie had faced a possible death sentence.

Addie was convicted earlier this year of first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the case.

Watson's body was found in April 2018 along a gravel road in southern Monroe County. Prosecutors said Addie and Watson had a seven-year affair and planned to marry the month she was killed. But Addie was still married to his wife of 23 years, Melanie Addie, at the time.

At Monday's sentencing hearing, Addie asked the judge for a new trial, arguing that his attorney did not present all the evidence available in the case.

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