An Arizona woman was sentenced to life in prison last week, years after shooting her ex-boyfriend dead amid a custody dispute involving their then-infant son.
Kathryn Sinkevitch, 35, is ineligible for parole for the first-degree murder of Michael Agerter. Surveillance videos captured Sinkevitch opening fire on Agerter as he pulled into the garage of his Maricopa home in December 2016, according to the Casa Grande Dispatch.
Prosecutors presented evidence that Sinkevitch had two stolen license plates in her car, suggesting that Agerter’s slaying was premeditated. They said she also knew when Agerter would arrive home, as she received an email stating that he was scheduled to take a paternity test that afternoon.
Amid the custody battle, Sinkevitch hired a private investigator to obtain Agerter’s home address, according to the newspaper.
Convicted in May, police said surveillance footage also contradicted Sinkevitch’s account that she was at work when her ex-boyfriend was killed. Police ultimately determined that she had enough time to drive to Agerter’s home to commit the murder and return to work, according to the Arizona Daily Independent.
In April 2016, a month after their relationship ended, Agerter obtained a protection order against Sinkevitch in April 2016. Their son was born in October 2016, and prosecutors said Agerter was taking steps to establish paternity before the murder.
“Agerter never saw his son before he was murdered, and the paternity results later confirmed he was the boy’s father,” Pinal County Attorney’s Office said in a press release.
In a statement to the Dispatch, the slain man’s family said he was a victim of domestic violence—which escalated to a deadly level when he tried to get custody of his infant son.
“[He] took every legal precaution to protect himself and was trying to do the same for his child,” they said.
[Featured image: Kathryn Sinkevitch/Pinal County Adult Detention Center]
