Antioch Township man sentenced to 30 years in prison for killing girlfriend in 2012

An Antioch Township man was sentenced to 30 years in prison Thursday for killing his girlfriend in 2012 after an afternoon and evening of drinking.

Michael Shane Axtell, 43, was awarded 944 days of credit for time served after his sentencing hearing in Lake County court for killing Tammy Stone with a punch to the head in the home they shared in the 26000 block of West Bond Avenue.

Axtell is required to serve 100 percent of the sentence handed down by Judge Victoria Rossetti before being eligible for release.

It's unknown if Axtell will appeal the sentence. Rossetti set a court date of May 13 to discuss any final motions.

"I believe you love your children and you loved Tammy," Rossetti told Axtell in court. "This blow was aimed to end an argument, but was landed with such force that it took a life."

Authorities said Stone and Axtell were in a relationship and had children together, but split up when he moved to Colorado to work more than a decade ago. The two rekindled their relationship and had been living together periodically since he returned to Antioch Township in spring 2011, authorities said.

On Oct. 4, 2011, after drinking at various bars in southern Wisconsin and near Antioch, Axtell and Stone returned to her home and got into a physical fight, authorities said.

Assistant State's Attorney Eric Kalata said Axtell hit Stone three times. The second punch knocked her out, but Stone regained consciousness and phoned their daughter, Meghan, for help, Kalata said.

Meghan Stone arrived at the home with two friends shortly after receiving the call and confronted her father, authorities said. She said she got into a verbal argument with Axtell, but was pulled out of the house by her friends when that argument also turned physical.

While Meghan Stone was in the garage cooling off, Axtell landed the fatal blow, authorities said. Meghan Stone testified her mother hitting the floor "sounded like a bowling ball being dropped on a hardwood floor."

Meghan Stone testified at trial she ran inside and found Stone unconscious on the bedroom floor as her father slipped out the front door.

One of her friends called police and Stone was taken to a hospital where she later died, authorities said.

Axtell was arrested by Lake County Sheriff's deputies about 90 minutes later, authorities said. He was charged with three counts of murder.

He was found guilty of first-degree murder at his trial in January. Rossetti could have sentenced him to 60 years in prison.

Axtell maintained his innocence during Thursday's sentencing hearing and said he "never hit her" and "never caused her death."

"I am deeply and truly sorry for what has happened to my family," he said in a prepared statement. "We all have lost a very loving and deeply warm person. But I never hit her."

Kalata asked Rossetti to sentence Axtell to 40 years in prison, pointing out he had four previous convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol in four states.

He also said Axtell had a previous battery conviction against Stone before moving to Colorado.

"He is the reason we are all here," Kalata said. "This defendant murdered Tammy Stone."