Boyfriend gets 55 years for killing woman as kids watched

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - A judge has sentenced a northern Indiana man to 55 years in prison for fatally shooting his girlfriend as her three children watched.

St. Joseph Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Hurley also sentenced 19-year-old Tyron Johnson to five years' probation Monday for the June 2015 slaying of 22-year-old Precious Jackson.

Authorities say Johnson shot Jackson multiple times and fled the scene, leaving the children to linger by their mother's body in the middle of a Mishawaka street. Police arrested him four days later.

Witnesses said they saw and heard the couple arguing loudly before the shooting, but the jury rejected Johnson's claim that he pulled out his gun and started shooting without thinking because he had been provoked.

Johnson said he intends to file an appeal in the case.