KEMP, Texas — 67-year-old Merlin Kay Long Whittington, of Kemp, has been sentenced to 12 years in the Texas Department of Corrections in the shooting death of her husband, Hubert Whittington, in August 2018.
Merlin Whittington, who was originally arrested and charged with murder, pled to a lesser included charge of manslaughter in the case. She was sentenced yesterday, January 15, 2020, to 12 years in prison by Kaufman County 86th District Court Judge Casey Blair.
On August 16, 2018, at approximately 1:28 p.m., Merlin Whittington called 911 to request an ambulance at her home on Legg Drive in Cedar Creek Country Club, according to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by inForney.com.
“I shot my husband, I was, and it went off,” stated the affidavit.
When asked where he was shot, Merlin Whittington responded, “Looked like it grazed his head.”
The phone connection remained open until emergency personnel arrived though Merlin Whittington did not communicate with the dispatcher any further.
Upon arrival, emergency personnel found Hubert Whittington deceased of an apparent gunshot wound to the face, a law enforcement official told inForney.com at the time.
Finding discrepancies in her account and evidence gathered at the crime scene by investigators with the Kaufman County Sheriff's Office and the Texas Rangers, Merlin Whittington was arrested.
At the time of her plea agreement in mid-2019, surviving family members told inForney.com they were pleased with the agreement since it expedited what could have been a lengthy and emotional trial. inForney.com was unable to reach family members for comment following the sentencing.
