Steelworker faces up to 60 years in girlfriend's death

MADISON, Wis. - A judge is set to sentence a Massachusetts steelworker in connection with his former girlfriend's shooting death.

Forty-year-old Phillip Byrd faces up to 60 years in prison after pleading guilty in July to one count of second-degree intentional homicide. His sentencing is set for 9 a.m. in Dane County Circuit Court.

Sheriff's deputies discovered Cheryl Gilberg dead in her Mazomanie home in February. Investigators arrested Byrd in Janesville the next day. According to court documents, he told investigators he and Gilberg got into a fight and her gun went off twice during the struggle.

He said he became frightened and fled. He told investigators he could barely live with the guilt and wished Wisconsin had the death penalty.