A Manhattan man was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday after being convicted of murdering his wife.
29-year-old Kamahl Bobian was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison for first degree murder of his estranged wife Shannell back in 2021. Bobian was also sentenced to 52 months in prison for aggravated burglary and 24 months on two counts of violating a protective order.
The 24 month sentence will be held concurrently while the the life sentence and aggravated burglary sentence will be consecutively.
Bobian’s defense attorney Julie Effenbeck filed a motion for departure with the court and also requested a 25 to life sentence for Bobian that can be served concurrently.
Effenbeck also filed a motion for a new trial stating that her client didn’t think the evidence overwhemingly determined that Bobian was guilty. Judge Kendra Lewison denied both motions.
Riley County Attorney Barry Wilkerson requested a sentence of 50 to life for the murder conviction saying that Bobian had a history of violence towards Shannell and her children including incidents where he punched his then five-year-old child in the stomach and broke Shannell’s patella.
In court on Tuesday, Bobian apologized for his actions and said that he would never drink again. However, Bobian denied several accusations of hitting Shannell and his son in the past.
During the reading of his sentence, Bobian got up and left the court room just as Judge Lewison was finished reading the sentences. Bobian also interrupted several times throughout the hearing including angrily saying that he never hit Shannell or her children.
