Reginald Johnson will have to serve a minimum of 25 years in prison for killing former Cowley Countian Amy Whiteman before he becomes eligible for parole, according to Georgia Cole, a spokeswoman for the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office.
Johnson was convicted last Friday by a Sedgwick County District Court Jury of the first degree premeditated murder of his 36-year-old wife at their Wichita home last August.
Jury selection began Feb. 25 and the first witnesses called the next day. The jury deliberated six hours before returning its verdict. Sentencing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. April 4.
Cole said conviction of premeditated first degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence with the 25 year minimum before parole eligibility.
Johnson has been in jail since he walked into a police bureau and said he hurt his wife. Investigators found she had been shot multiple times.
Whiteman graduated from Central High School and worked at the Winfield State Hospital for eight years. She had two sons and many of her relatives still live in this area.
