A Calloway County man who shot and killed a Murray State University student last year has been sentenced to 40 years in prison.
David Buckingham, a special judge for the Calloway County Circuit Court, oversaw the sentencing hearing on Thursday. In July, Julius Sotomayor pleaded guilty to felony charges of murder, theft and tampering with evidence.
Kentucky State Police detectives arrested and charged Sotomayor in March 2021 with the murder of Murray State University student Sarah Townsend after dectectives had conducted interviews and located Sotomayor at his home near Townsend’s car.
Townsend’s death in 2021 led students, faculty and staff on Murray State’s campus to hold a vigil opposing violence against women.
