Posey County woman sentenced to decades in prison for killing her husband
POSEY COUNTY, Ind. — A Posey County judge sentenced a Wadesville woman Thursday to serve decades in prison after she pleaded guilty to killing her husband.
Peggy Higginson, 49, was previously convicted of voluntary manslaughter, a Level 2 felony.
Posey County Circuit Court Judge Craig Goedde sentenced Higginson to serve 30 years in prison — the maximum punishment for manslaughter allowed in Indiana.
Higginson was arrested on June 24, 2018, three days after police said she fatally shot her husband, 48-year-old Troy Higginson, during a physical altercation inside a vehicle.
Posey County Sheriff's Deputies dispatched to the scene of the shooting in the 1200 block of Wade Road reportedly pronounced Troy Higginson dead upon arrival.
Original Story:Man shot, killed by wife after domestic dispute in Posey County, police say
A subsequent autopsy revealed he was shot one time through the chest, Posey County Prosecutor Thomas Clowers said in a news release.
Clowers said Peggy Higginson formally stated her intent in early October 2018 to present a self-defense claim under Indiana law. She reportedly stated she was suffering from PTSD due to past abuse at the time of the shooting.
Prosecutors initially charged Peggy Higginson with murder, a Level 1 felony, but for entering a plea of guilty her charge was reduced to voluntary manslaughter.
As part of her plea agreement, Peggy Higginson had to admit she shot her husband "while acting under sudden heat," Clowers said.
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The Indiana Supreme Court has said public heat is a "mitigating factor" in homicide cases, and Clowers defined the term as meaning "provoked by anger, rage resentment, or terror to a degree sufficient to obscure the reason of an ordinary person."
"Chief Deputy Jeremy Fortune conducted a thorough investigation in this case that led to a conviction and lengthy prison sentence," Clowers wrote in the release. "Troy (Higginson's) voice was here in the courtroom today through his family and friends."
Tory Higginson's family, writing in his 2018 obituary, said he was born in Evansville in 1970, and later served as a National Guardsman and worked as a plumber.
"Troy enjoyed building race cars, riding his motorcycle, boxing and spending time with his family," they wrote.
Peggy Higginson will be transported to the Indiana Department of Corrections to serve her 30 year sentence.
Houston Harwood can be contacted at walter.harwood@courierpress.com with story ideas and questions. Twitter: @houston_whh.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Wadesville woman Peggy Higginson sentenced for killing husband
