John Lawler Pleads Guilty To Murder In Wife's Stabbing Death
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A 56-year-old Bloomington man pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Aug. 20 for the stabbing death of his wife earlier this month.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced Tuesday that John Lawler will be sentenced in October and is expected to get 25-30 years in prison.
The original complaint states Lawler and his wife, 47-year-old Darla King, arrived to their townhome together around 6 p.m. Aug. 4. King told her adult son, who was at the home at the time, that she and Lawler were not getting along.
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King then went to the basement and listened to music with her younger son until he went to sleep around 10 p.m. About an hour later, her adult son said he heard the music shut off and yelling between his mother and Lawler.
Her adult son went upstairs and found King covered in blood with Lawler on top of her. He called emergency responders, but their life-saving methods were unsuccessful. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Lawler, during his guilty plea, admitted that King had done nothing that would make it reasonable to stab her.
An autopsy revealed King had been stabbed four times on the left front side of her body, and she also suffered defensive wounds to her hands.
