Jeremy Scott Ritchie has been given a 30-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to killing 38-year-old Crystal Perry Ostrum, his ex-girlfriend who had been married to another man for just two weeks.
Ritchie, who is now 41, had been charged with going to his former girlfriend's new home with a shotgun and attempting to shoot her new husband, Cody Ostrum.
In the process, Crystal Ostrum was shot and killed and her child and husband were injured.
Mr. Ostrum testified during an earlier hearing that he had seen the defendant the night before the incident at a gathering to watch fireworks.
Mr.
Ostrum said, "He said he would be there at daylight to blow my head off." The family lived in a trailer park off of Dayton Pike.
He also said he received several text messages from Ritchie. Several of these messages were read from Ritchie's subpoenaed phone records.
One message said, "You will not go to sleep until you've seen my face, you ignorant punk."
Another said, "If you want to die, stay where you are."
Mr. Ostrum said the defendant showed up the next day and started shooting through the walls of their trailer home.
He said Ms. Ostrum was shot in the back first. He said, "I was dragging her with me then I get hit again on that second shot."
He then saw his son get shot. He said he was yelling for everyone to "get down."
Mr. Ostrum also said he did not know his wife had passed away from her injuries until they were taken to the emergency room. They had only been married two weeks.
Detective Dennis Waters of the Soddy Daisy Police Department testified that when he arrived to the scene, he saw bullet holes on the sides of the trailer. He also found multiple shotgun shell cartridges.
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