Hunter James Tatum was convicted of two counts of murder as part of a plea deal, with each count carrying a 99-year sentence to run consecutively, District Attorney C.J. Robinson said in a June 21statement.
“Ninety-nine year sentences back-to-back accomplishes the same thing as life without, in my view,” Robinson said, per theMontgomery Advertiser.“And for the family, there is finality. There will be no appeals that would come with a death sentence.”
On Oct. 21, 2021, Hunter fatally shot Summer, who was five months pregnant, in a fit of rage after she learned he was allegedly having an online affair with a woman in England, theMontgomery Advertiserreports, citing prosecutors.
Tatum’s defense attorneys claimed that the shots were fired in self-defense, alleging that during an argument, their client’s wife pulled out a .38 caliber revolver, and when he tried to grab it from her, it went off,Alabama Localreports.
Prosecutors presented key evidence during the three-day trial, including audio recordings from a home security camera that captured Summer pleading for her life.
Hunter is then captured on the recording saying, “Nope” multiple times before two pops are heard, about three seconds apart, theMontgomery Advertiserreports.
Hunter James Tatum.Prattville Police Dept
“I mean, it’s gut-wrenching, there’s, there’s no way to get around the emotional impact and just how draining it is to talk about this case, look at the evidence and, and listen to the video, the surveillance video that you can hear her screams just before she died,” Robinson said, per WSFA. “It’s just, it’s just senseless. There was no reason for it.”
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
Summer was described on the page as someone who “always had a huge smile on her face and loved life.”
Robinson said on Facebook that the case took an “emotional toll” on his team.
source: people.com
