Judge Refuses Woman's Guilty Plea

SHEPHERDSVILLE, Ky. -- A Bullitt County woman tried to plead guilty to murder for shooting and killing her boyfriend, but the judge refused to accept her plea.

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"Your honor, I did not mean to shoot him at anytime, but I do want to go on and take this plea," Cook testified.

Cook attempted to plead guilty to murder, admitting she shot and killed her boyfriend, 66-year-old James Atherton, at his Hillview home last year.

"It's been hard," said Hope DeWitt, the victim's daughter. "It's really destroyed our whole family and we just want this over."

But the judge said for Cook to plead guilty to murder, there has to be evidence the crime was intentional -- something Cook won't admit in court.

"I didn't have it aimed at him. I didn't want to shoot him. I had no intentions of shooting him, but the next thing I know, he was dead," Cook said.

Atherton's family said they didn't expect to hear the truth, but the prosecutor in the case said they have a videotaped statement from Cook in which she said she shot Atherton after an argument, first shooting him in the arm, then reloading the gun and shooting him in the head.

The judge said he wants to see the statement before they move forward with the plea.

Atherton's family hopes the case can come to a close and they can finally move on with their lives.

"We need closure. He was our dad, and we just need closure," DeWitt said.

As part of the plea deal, Cook agreed to a 32-year sentence, and would be eligible for parole after 20 years.

If she goes to trial, she could face anything from 20 years to a life sentence.