EMPORIA — A man has been sentenced to life in prison in the fatal shooting of a woman in her apartment near the Emporia State University campus.
The Emporia Gazette reports that Sony Uk, of Emporia, won’t be eligible for parole for 50 years under the sentence ordered Monday for first-degree murder. Judge Merlin Wheeler said there was “absolutely no reason or justification” for the March 2017 death of 38-year-old Mahogany Brooks. Uk declined to speak at the hearing.
During his trial, the defense argued that the killing wasn’t premeditated, which is required for a first-degree murder conviction. But the prosecution argued it was, saying Uk arrived at Brooks’ apartment with a loaded shotgun and pulled the trigger multiple times.