A 48-year-old Creston man accused of fatally shooting his girlfriend was sentenced Thursday to 50 years in prison with 10 years suspended.
Robert Kowalski entered an Alford plea Jan. 12 to mitigated deliberate homicide for the March 16, 2008, shooting of 45-year-old Lorraine Kay Morin. In such a plea, the defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges that prosecutors have enough evidence to obtain a guilty verdict.
Morin, a mother of six, was shot in the face during an alcohol-fueled argument at her house near Columbia Falls. Prosecutors say that after the shooting, Kowalski fled to his house, where he was arrested the next day after a 31-hour armed standoff with authorities.
Kowalski told investigators he accidentally shot Morin as he was falling back into a chair.
“This is a very tragic accident, that it happened,” Kowalski said Thursday. “I wish I could tell you all how in words how sorry I am, and the pain that I feel inside for us all.”
Shortly after Kowalski’s plea, he attempted to back out of the agreement he struck with prosecutors. Kowalski testified during a pair of hearings in January that his attorneys “rushed” him into the deal and “coached” him on what to say. District Judge Katherine Curtis ruled in February that his claims were “not credible.”