KANSAS CITY —A jury on Monday convicted Gene Birdsong and recommended he be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole -- plus 17 years more -- for the fatal stabbing in November 2018 of his wife Tabitha, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.
Earlier Monday, a Jackson County jury found Birdsong guity of 1st Degree Murder and Armed Criminal Action charges. They soon after began sentencing deliberations and recommended 17 years, at the prosecutor's suggestion, for the conviction. The Murder 1st Degree convictions carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
According to court records, on Nov. 6, 2018, Police responded to Roanoke and Madison in Kansas City on a report of a dead body. They found the victim's body. She had obvious head injuries. They also found in her pocket an order of protection with her and the defendant's name on it.
Witnesses told police they were seen or heard together hours before her death. A witness also saw the defendant with bloody pants. Police found bloody clothing in a room where the defendant had been staying.