FORT COLLINS — A Loveland man who said he accidentally shot his pregnant wife, killing her and their baby, was sentenced to 15 years in prison Friday.
Branden Burgess, 34, said in Larimer County District Court before his sentence that what happened “was unforgivable” and he couldn’t bring himself to ask the family of his wife, Kelly Burgess, for forgiveness.
Prosecutors and Kelly Burgess’ family maintained that the October 2009 shooting was intentional and the couple had a history of domestic violence.
The shooting happened in the couple’s garage the night they were celebrating Burgess’ pregnancy.
They were living with a 3-year-old son at the time.
Police said Burgess intentionally put the gun to his wife’s head and shot her.
Burgess’ sentence was part of a plea bargain with prosecutors. He maintained the shooting was an accident and told police the couple were using the gun to pretend to be snipers when it happened.
Burgess’ sentence was the maximum he could have received for reckless manslaughter and possession of a weapon by a previous offender.
“I don’t blame Kelly’s family for hating me, because I hate me,” Branden Burgess said in court. “The second Kelly’s heart stopped, so did mine. I love you Kelly.”
Kelly Burgess was the daughter of Wyoming state Rep. Kathy Davison.
In response to her daughter’s death, Davison introduced legislation this year that she said she hoped would prevent violence against pregnant women.
One bill was to enhance the penalty in some cases when a person is convicted of killing a pregnant woman.
The other bill would make a person lose parental rights to surviving children if convicted of killing a spouse.
This article has been corrected in this online archive. Originally, due to a reporting error, The Associated Press said Branden Burgess couldn’t bring himself to apologize to his wife’s family in court. Burgess did apologize at his court hearing but said he couldn’t bring himself to ask them for forgiveness.
