A Bradley County woman has been sentenced to 17 years in prison for second-degree murder in the 2022 fatal shooting of her husband over going to bed early, court records show.
Britany Michelle Taylor, 48, pleaded guilty in the May 15, 2022, slaying of her husband, Mike Taylor, 49, who was found shot dead at their home in the 1200 block of Old Parksville Road, according to Bradley County Circuit Court Clerk's Office and jail records.
The home is east of Cleveland, about a mile from U.S. Highway 64, halfway between Cleveland and Ocoee in Polk County.
Taylor appeared Monday before Criminal Court Judge Andrew Freiberg, according to Taylor's plea and judgment documents.
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During a 2022 interview with the investigating officer, Britany Taylor said she and her husband got into an argument because he needed to go to bed to get up early the next day, court documents state. The officers found the man in a hallway bathroom.
"Britany stated that during their argument, she went to their bedroom and retrieved a firearm from under the mattress," Sgt. Brandon Edwards wrote in a sworn affidavit in the case. "After retrieving the firearm, Britany stated she was in the hallway next to the bathroom, and she fired one shot into a closet door. Whenever she did this, Mike was in the bathroom on the opposite side of the hallway. Britany stated she did this because she wanted attention, and Mike was telling her he didn't care."
But she changed her account, Edwards stated in the affidavit.
"Britany then admitted to going into the bathroom where Mike was," Edwards stated in the document. "Through different versions, Britany admitted that Mike did not have his hand on the gun. While in the bathroom with Mike, Britany admitted that she meant to pull the trigger of the gun but thought it would just 'click.' The gun fired and struck Mike in the cheek area. Britany then placed the call to 911."
Crime scene investigators who worked at the scene noted a gunshot wound to Mike Taylor's right cheek, the document stated.
According the Frieberg's sentencing orders, since the incident date in Taylor's case was prior to a recent update in state law, she can earn sentence reduction credits, issued by the court, as long as the credits do not reduce the sentence by more than 15%.
That means Taylor could become eligible for release, if the court deems it proper, after serving about 14 1/2 years of her sentence, court documents state.
Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569.
Staff Photo by Ben Benton / The Bradley County Judicial Complex in Cleveland, Tenn., is shown Oct. 12.