OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. – A Waterford Township woman was sentenced Thursday after pleading guilty to manslaughter charges in the shooting death of her husband.
Tina Talbot pleaded guilty in February, and at her sentencing hearing Thursday, she detailed the alleged abuse she and her special-needs son endured at the hands of her husband before his death. She requested the judge's sympathy.
The judge sentenced Talbot to 20 months to 15 years for manslaughter. As part of her sentence, she was ordered to pay over $30,000 in restitution.
The death of Milosz Szczepanowicz
Waterford Township police said Talbot was arrested after calling 911 and admitting to killing her husband on Sept. 14, 2018. Police said she called at 11:42 a.m. from a home on Meadowood Drive. She was taken into custody at the scene.
When officers arrived, they found Milosz Szczepanowicz, 45, dead in the backyard. The couple had a young son who was at home at the time of the shooting, police said. The child was not injured. A semi-automatic weapon was recovered at the scene.
The following Monday, Talbot was charged with open murder and felony firearm. Those charges were lowered to voluntary manslaughter as part of a plea agreement. A felony firearm conviction carries a mandatory penalty of at least two years.
At her sentencing hearing Thursday Talbot described killing her husband:
"He sat in a lawn chair. I walked out, standing kitty-corner behind him, pointing the gun at him. He said to me that I had five seconds to kill him, otherwise he would take the gun from me and kill [son's name] first and then me, either shooting himself afterwards or waiting for the police to do it for him. He started counting: one, two, and at three he started to stand and for a split-second turned away from me. I fired the gun two times, as I had always been instructed to do. Afterwards, I checked on my son and called 911 to tell them what I had done. I waited until they came and surrendered myself."
Victim impact statements
Prior to sentencing, the family of Milosz Szczepanowicz gave victim impact statements, sharing how his death has affected them. Szczepanowicz's brother and mother both requested the maximum punishment be handed down.
Watch below: Brother of Milosz Szczepanowicz gives victim impact statement
Watch below: Mother of Milosz Szczepanowicz gives victim impact statement
Talbot testifies
Talbot's attorney spoke prior to her sharing her testimony. He described abuse she and her son allegedly endured. He detailed a particular incident where their son wandered away from home and neighbors witnessed Szczepanowicz draging the child back to the home by his hair.
"He was actually the instrument of his own death in my mind," the attorney said. "I don't see the purpose of putting her back in a cage."
When Talbot spoke, she described the week leading up to the moment she killed her husband. She said she feared for her life and the life of her son.
"He told me in great detail how he would slit my son's throat from ear to ear in front of me, making me watch dripping his blood on me before I died," she said.
"I only ask for understanding and compassion. I was in immediate fear for my son's life and that of my own. He made it clear that he intended on killing us that day," she said.
Watch below: Attorney for Tina Talbot speaks prior to her testimony
Watch below: Tina Talbot gives emotional testimony
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