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Kansas City, MO —
Shon Pernice, a former paramedic for the Independence Fire Department, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Friday for the death of his wife, Renee.
Pernice, who appeared emotionless before Judge Shane T. Alexander in Clay County Circuit Court, had pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in February during an emergency hearing.
The 15-year sentence was the maximum he could receive.
Showing little emotion, Pernice told the court, which was full of family, friends and supporters, that he committed the crime on Jan. 2, 2009.
“I’m sorry for the act I committed on Jan. 2, 2009,” he said. “Renee was a good mother and she was a good wife, and she was a good person. I snapped that day and I wanted to hide it from my children.”
He had been scheduled for trial in late February on a charge of first-degree murder in the death of his wife, a 35-year-old nursing instructor and mother of three who disappeared in January 2009.
Pernice also pleaded guilty on Friday to two counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child. Prosecutors dropped additional charges of felony theft and tampering with witnesses. Judge Alexander sentenced him to six months in the county jail for each of the endangerment charges.
Pernice had told the court in February that he struck his wife during an argument. He then said he put her body out to be picked up with the trash, and prosecutors had said there was no possibility that her body could be found. Investigators said that her body is likely in a Shawnee landfill of approximately two acres.
The couple had argued in their Northland home that day after she learned he had allegedly stolen $180 from Renee’s sister during a family Christmas party. Pernice was also preparing to move out of the house because of their pending divorce.
Pleading not guilty in May of 2010, Pernice was working for the Independence Fire Department at the time of his arrest and was suspended. He also served in the National Guard and with the Army in Iraq.
Defense lawyer Eric Vernon asked the judge to sentence Pernice to six years in prison for Renee’s death because he is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. He served in Iraq in 2007 and 2008.
The couple had two young sons. Renee’s mother was awarded legal guardianship of the two boys in 2010.
Pernice also was accused of stealing a neighbor’s handgun and endangering his two sons in incidents that occurred after Renee Pernice’s disappearance. As part of the plea agreement in February, he admitted two counts of child endangerment. Prosecutors dropped theft and witness tampering charges.
Shon Pernice, a former paramedic for the Independence Fire Department, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Friday for the death of his wife, Renee.
Pernice, who appeared emotionless before Judge Shane T. Alexander in Clay County Circuit Court, had pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in February during an emergency hearing.
The 15-year sentence was the maximum he could receive.
Showing little emotion, Pernice told the court, which was full of family, friends and supporters, that he committed the crime on Jan. 2, 2009.
“I’m sorry for the act I committed on Jan. 2, 2009,” he said. “Renee was a good mother and she was a good wife, and she was a good person. I snapped that day and I wanted to hide it from my children.”
He had been scheduled for trial in late February on a charge of first-degree murder in the death of his wife, a 35-year-old nursing instructor and mother of three who disappeared in January 2009.
Pernice also pleaded guilty on Friday to two counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child. Prosecutors dropped additional charges of felony theft and tampering with witnesses. Judge Alexander sentenced him to six months in the county jail for each of the endangerment charges.
Pernice had told the court in February that he struck his wife during an argument. He then said he put her body out to be picked up with the trash, and prosecutors had said there was no possibility that her body could be found. Investigators said that her body is likely in a Shawnee landfill of approximately two acres.
The couple had argued in their Northland home that day after she learned he had allegedly stolen $180 from Renee’s sister during a family Christmas party. Pernice was also preparing to move out of the house because of their pending divorce.
Pleading not guilty in May of 2010, Pernice was working for the Independence Fire Department at the time of his arrest and was suspended. He also served in the National Guard and with the Army in Iraq.
Defense lawyer Eric Vernon asked the judge to sentence Pernice to six years in prison for Renee’s death because he is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. He served in Iraq in 2007 and 2008.
The couple had two young sons. Renee’s mother was awarded legal guardianship of the two boys in 2010.
Pernice also was accused of stealing a neighbor’s handgun and endangering his two sons in incidents that occurred after Renee Pernice’s disappearance. As part of the plea agreement in February, he admitted two counts of child endangerment. Prosecutors dropped theft and witness tampering charges.
Many people were wearing “Justice for Renee” T-shirts, one of whom, standing outside the courthouse and asking not to be identified except that she was a friend of the family, said she knew Pernice had killed her when she learned that he had not helped police when they searched for her.
“It just makes you sick,” she said. “Maybe now the family can move on.”
Prosecutor Dan White said in a statement issued later that he and investigators have lived with this case for over three years.
“It amazes, saddens and angers me that if we take the defendant at his word and believe what he told this court in regards to the death of Renee, we must also face the fact that at her most vulnerable time, the defendant ignored her. He ignored her; he let her die despite his skills as a medic,” White said.
