A 60-year-old Leavenworth woman was sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison for killing her mother.

County Attorney Todd Thompson said Victoria Smith was sentenced on Friday for the death of her mother Anna Higgins just over a year ago.

District Judge Gunnar Sundby denied a defense motion to withdraw Smith’s guilty plea in the case.

Smith admitted she was surprised to be awakened by her mother and hit Higgins with a flashlight. She then took her to another room and then struck her several more times with a three-pound mallet. Higgins was found dead in the home on 6th Ave. in Leavenworth on July 3, 2016.

On Friday, Judge Sundby sentenced Smith to 155 months, or almost 13 years. Smith had asked for a departure in her sentence and said that she was started by what she thought was an intruder and hit her mother with a flash light. When she realized it was her mother she “snapped.” That she only “tapped” her mother with the hammer to scare her, and did not believe the death was due to the hammer.

At sentencing, the family told the court of the years of issues they had with Victoria Smith and the horrific way Anna Higgins was murdered. Her family said that they could not even have a viewing at the funeral for Ms. Higgins.

A judge in Leavenworth departed from Kansas Sentencing Guidelines Friday in sentencing a man convicted of the drunk-driving deaths of his brother and uncle.

William Wilson of Basehor, Kansas was convicted in June of involuntary manslaughter due to DUI. Wilson, Justin Wilson and Jessie Aldrich were traveling back from a drinking establishment on June 13, 2015 when their vehicle crashed, according to Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson.

A packed room of friends and family of Wilson testified to the character and hard work of Wilson, and all asked that he receive probation. The sentencing guildelines call for a mandatory prison sentence, and the standard sentence is 41 months, according to Thompson.

Defense attorney James Colgan argued for a new trial. Colgan argued that the evidence did not show Wilson was the driver, although the prosecutor and the jury disagreed. The judge denied the motion for a new trial.

But, District Judge Gunnar Sundby departed from the guidelines.  He suspended a 41-month prison sentence, ordered a one year jail sentence and with 36 months probation. Sundby said Wilson would be eligible for work release.

Thompson said Wilson was just 20 years old, and thus not old enough to drink, when the crash occured on County Road One just north of Eudora near the Kansas River. Justin Wilson and Jessie Aldrich, were found dead, ejected from the vehicle.  Investigators said no one was wearing a seatbelt. The vehicle had veered off the road and into a tree. Willie Wilson was the only one found alive at the scene.

All three were slated to be groomsmen in a wedding later that Saturday at Holy-Field Vineyard and Winery in Basehor, which is where they lived. Willie Wilson was taken into custody at that time. The wedding between Zach Wilson and Shanna Breuer was postponed due to the tragedy. Willie Wilson was the brother of the groom and also related to the victims. It is believed they had left a drinking establishment around 2 to 3 am. Deputies responded to the crash at around 5 am. At that time, a test showed Willie Wilson to have a .09 blood-alcohol content

An Iowa man is charged in a federal indictment with threatening to kill a man in Omaha, Nebraska because he was Jewish and employed.

An indictment filed in federal court in Nebraska charges Justin Montello with two counts that could land him in prison for up to eight years if he’s convicted.

According to the indictment, Montello sent a threatening electronic message, in which he allegedly said he would find and kill the victim. The message was laden with profanity and anti-semitic comments: “Do you have fun f****ng other people’s lives over? Feel good to have people waste their time intervieiwing (sic) with you you f***ing lying scumbag. I will find you you f****ng Jew, and I will f****ng kill you. ”

The message was allegedly sent to the victim’s place of employment in August of 2015.

Montello is charged in a two-count Indictment. Count I charges the defendant with interference with federally protected activity. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II charges Montello with threatening interstate communication. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.

A Nebraska man was sentenced to 20 years in prison Friday for producing child pornography.

Cody Childers, 21, of Plattsmouth, Nebraska, must also serve ten years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.

Prosecutors say Childers used Facebook to “friend” minor girls in Nebraska and outside of the state. Acting United States Attorney Robert Stuart said Childers requested sexually explicit photographs from the victims. The three girls in Nebraska were between the ages of 13 and 15 when he obtained the photographs. Stuart said Childers also asked minors in other states to take and send sexually explicit photographs.