NORTON – A Kansas man has been sentenced to more than 43 years in prison for convictions of second-degree murder and kidnapping of his wife, according to Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt.
Damien Shields, 44, Norton was sentenced Tuesday in Norton County District Court by District Judge Preston Pratt to 460 months for second-degree murder and 60 months for kidnapping to be served consecutively in the Kansas Department of Corrections. Shields had pleaded guilty to the charges in February.
The crimes took place in April 2019 at a residence in Norton County. The case was investigated by the Norton Police Department, Norton County Sheriff’s Office, Lawrence Police Department, Cape Girardeau, Mo., Police Department and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.
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NORTON COUNTY —A 42-year-old Norton man was arrested for first-degree murder Monday (April 8, 2019) in connection with the death of his wife over the weekend, according to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.
The agency says Damien Shields was taken into custody after he was released from the Cape Girardeau hospital where he was taken after officers found him in a hotel room, suffering from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He has been booked into the Cape Girardeau jail.
Shields is accused of killing his 38-year-old wife, Lori Shields, whose body was discovered Sunday in a home at 16353 U.S. Highway 36, in rural Norton. The victim had been a secretary at Eisenhower Elementary School, in Norton. The district canceled classes on Monday to allow students, faculty, and staff to mourn her death. The district also released the following statement.
After Norton Co. Sheriff's deputies discovered her body, they asked the KBI for its assistance with the investigation. Together, they were able to identify a suspect, the KBI said.