Kolton Barnes, 27, received a sentence of life without parole plus an additional 85 to 106 years in prison almost two years to the day after 27-year-old Kayla Matulka was killed in her own bedroom.
According to the Lincoln Journal Star, the condemned man declined to speak at his sentencing hearing on Monday, July 18, 2022.
“I understand it all,” Barnes reportedly told Saunders County District Judge Christina Marroquin. “I’m not going to waste your time.”
Specifically, the defendant received life in prison for Matulka’s slaying. The additional decades were added on for six felony counts including two weapons charges, two child abuse charges, animal abuse, and tampering with physical evidence. He was convicted on all counts by Saunders County jurors in May of this year after a trial that ran just over two weeks, according to the Omaha World-Herald.
Barnes had stabbed Matulka nearly 30 times, and while he admitted to killing her, Barnes claims the violence was all in self-defense.
Prosecutors disputed that excuse.
“She wanted out and he refused to accept that, and because of that Kayla Matulka is dead,” Nebraska Assistant Attorney General Sandra Allen said during the state’s closing arguments. “He beat her, he strangled her and he stabbed her.”
The victim’s body was found the day after she died. Her 11-year-old son Jayden Matulka and 6-year-old daughter Kinsley Matulka woke up on the morning in question, wondering where their mom was. The children went to a neighbor’s house after being unable to find her or Barnes. After awhile, the older boy went back home to see if his mother had returned and soon discovered the worst.https://lawandcrime.com/crime/nebraska-man-sentenced-for-murdering-fiancee-after-she-tried-to-break-off-the-engagement-he-also-killed-the-family-dog/?mibextid=FrZHod&fs=e&s=cl
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