A Holts Summit woman convicted of killing her husband on New Year's Day in 2011 has died.
Sandra G. Plunkett, 44, died Sept. 21 at the Chillicothe Correction Center, a women's prison. No cause of death was listed in her obituary and the funeral home handling arrangements could not comment.
Plunkett was born to Dale Gordon and Maxine Ann Jannick on Oct. 15, 1973, in Jefferson City. She married Paul Plunkett, a former Jefferson City Police officer, on Sept. 5, 1998.
A former SWAT and Community Policing team member and field training officer with the JCPD, Paul Plunkett had retired from the force in 2008. He died in a hospital bed in his home on Jan. 1, 2011, from a gunshot wound to the head. He was 52 years old.
In the court case that followed, Callaway County Prosecuting Attorney Chris Wilson stated Sandra Plunkett murdered her husband in order to claim a $100,000 life insurance policy to pay for her heroin addiction. Public defender Justin Carver represented Sandra Plunkett, who pleaded not guilty, claiming the murder was an act of self defense against an abusive husband.
In court, Wilson said Plunkett's abuse accusation was a "glorious lie" that was "three years in the making." He referenced the days just after her husband's death in which she fabricated stories for investigators.
The first story she told investigators on the day of her husband's death was she saw a man wearing camouflage and holding a gun on her street, and said he was probably the murderer. On Jan. 4, 2011, she told investigators Paul Plunkett wanted to die in order to end suffering from an inflammatory colon disease which left him debilitated.
A key witness, Randy Deppe, who was serving time in the Missouri Department of Corrections, claimed Sandra Plunkett asked him to be her hit man or find someone who would murder her husband. Deppe said Sandra Plunkett told him the reward was a split of an insurance check.
In her testimony, Sandra Plunkett alleged her husband punched her in the face, beat her with his police baton and made her wear little clothing or be naked as he took photos of her for the Internet.
In January 2014, a jury found her guilty of first-degree murder and armed criminal action. According to a Fulton Sun report, after the verdict, Sandra Plunkett's parents appointed a longtime family friend to speak on the family's behalf. Vince Halbert said at that time he knew Sandra Plunkett for most of her life because she attended school with his son. He said Sandra Plunkett's family was taking the verdict "very hard."
"It's tough to think that you're daughter is going to prison for life," Halbert said.
Paul Plunkett's family also released a statement following the guilty verdict: "While we are certainly hurt by the lack of remorse and falsehoods presented by the defendant, we sincerely appreciate the patience and wisdom demonstrated by the judge and jury in this trial. It is also our hope the Jefferson City community will choose to remember the reputation Paul achieved prior to his murder; a person committed to public service, a person who believed in the criminal justice system, a person who treated people fairly regardless of their status and one with an outstanding personality that so many recognized and expressed to the family during his extended sickness and death."
In March 2014, Sandra Plunkett was sentenced to life without parole. An appeal made later was denied.
Plunkett is survived by her parents and one brother. She worked as an emergency medical technician for Ozark Central Ambulance, attended Lincoln University to become a registered nurse, and then worked for Capital Region Medical Center and St. Mary's Health Center in Jefferson City.
Her funeral is planned for 10:30 a.m. today at Sassmann's Chapel in Bland, with interment following in Countryside Memorial Gardens.