KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City man found guilty of manslaughter in his ex-girlfriend's death was sentenced Thursday to 54 years in prison.
A jury found Joseph Gonsalez, 24, guilty in March of voluntary manslaughter in the January 2018 death of Elizabeth Richards. He also was convicted of child endangerment, armed criminal action and attempted armed criminal action.
Richards, 19, was fatally shot inside a home on College Avenue in south Kansas City. Her wrists and arms were bound with duct tape.
Richards and Gonsalez had a 2-year-old son who was in the home at the time Richards was killed.
Months after Richards’ death, 41 Action News spoke with her mother, Shayna Richards, who said that Gonsalez abused her daughter and that she had filed a protection order against him.
During Gonsalez’s trial, prosecutors described how he planned the attack on Richards, including buying duct tape the day before the shooting.
