KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Leavenworth County woman’s lover could spend the rest of his life in prison after accepting a plea for his role in murdering her husband.
Jeffery Samulczyk, 37, of Omaha, Nebraska, pleaded guilty Wednesday to first-degree murder in the death of Joshua Gilson.
Leavenworth police responded to Gilson’s residence on Oct. 30, 2020, for a welfare check after he didn’t show up to work.
At the couple’s residence, officers spoke with Gilson’s wife, Alexandra Gilson, who had blood spots on her shirt and refused to allow police to enter the house.
She told the officers he had left for work.
Joshua Gilson’s brother went to the house later in the day and found Samulczyk in the master bedroom, which had blood on the walls, pillows and sheets.
Police later searched the house and followed a trail of blood from the house to a car to the cellar, where officers discovered Joshua Gilson’s body wrapped in plastic.
An autopsy determined that Joshua Gilson had been stabbed 28 times, including defensive wounds to his left hand.
Alexandra Gilson initially told investigators that she only stabbed her husband in self-defense, but Samulczyk said she called him after stabbing her husband to death as he slept after an argument.
As the investigation continued, text messages between Alexandra Gilson and Samulczyk revealed the extra-marital affair as well as more than a week of texts discussing a plan to kill Joshua Gilson.
Alexandra Gilson pleaded guilty to her husband’s murder in August and was sentenced Oct. 1 to life in prison.
Samulczyk also faces life in prison. His sentencing will be at 1 p.m. on Feb. 9 in Leavenworth County District Court.
“For the family there is no resolution that will bring their loved one back,” Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson said in a statement accompanying the plea announcement. “What we can do is hold these two accountable.”
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