Pocatello Man Pleads Guilty to Wife’s Murder
Published at(POCATELLO) – A Pocatello man has pleaded guilty to the May 2011 death of his estranged wife.
Michael Lane Sparks faces a second-degree murder charge for killing Judith Rachel Johnson.
Sparks will have a minimum 20-year fixed sentence as part of the plea agreement.
Police say Johnson was bludgeoned to death with a rifle and baseball bat while the couple’s children were in another room.
Sparks claimed he was so intoxicated that he couldn’t remember the incident.
Sentencing is set for March 12.