Man convicted of fatally stabbing wife who was found with order of protection in her pocket
02/28/2023 12:27 pm PST
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (TCD) -- A 47-year-old man was recently convicted of fatally stabbing his wife in 2018.
On Nov. 6, 2018, Kansas City Police officers responded to a home near Roanoke and Madison, where they found Tabitha Birdsong’s body with an order of protection against her husband in her pocket, the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office said in a news release. Officials said she had "obvious head injuries."
According to a court document obtained by KSHB-TV, the victim and her husband, Gene Birdsong, allegedly had a physically abusive relationship.
Hours before the victim’s death, witnesses reportedly told police she was with her husband, and he was later seen with blood on his pants. During a search of Gene Birdsong’s room, police found bloody clothing, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.
In response to the bloody clothing, Gene Birdsong reportedly said he had been attacked and stabbed.
On Feb. 27, a Jackson County jury convicted Gene Birdsong of first-degree murder and armed criminal action. The first-degree murder conviction carries a mandatory life imprisonment sentence without parole, and the jury recommended 17 years for Gene Birdsong’s armed criminal action conviction.
In a statement, prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said, "I’m grateful for this trial team that has carried this case for years, since it began. Today we should first all remember Tabitha, who lost her life at the hands of her domestic abuser. Obviously, nothing we could do would bring her back. But it was our honor to fight for her."
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