Grandmother sentenced to 55 years in killing

QUINCY -- An Adams County judge has imposed a prison sentence of 55 years on a 75-year-old Ashland woman convicted of the fatal shooting of her granddaughter's estranged husband.

In sentencing Shirley Skinner for first-degree murder Friday, Circuit Court Judge Mark Schuering also imposed a concurrent 30-year sentence for solicitation of murder.

A jury last month found Skinner guilty of the November 2008 shooting death of 32-year-old Steven Watkins of Chandlerville.

Prosecutors say Watkins was shot in the back of the head after he arrived at Skinner home to pick up his daughter for a court-ordered visit.

Skinner was also found guilty of trying to hire two men to kill Watkins.

Her trial was heard in Adams County on a change of venue from Cass County.