Photo: CBS 12
A Florida man who said he shot his pregnant wife to death because he mistook her for an intruder is spared of prison time.
It was November 2020 when Alex Rupp fired a deadly shot into the head of his wife Nicole at their Martin County home.
Rupp, in bed at the time, said he saw a shadowy figure in the kitchen that night and patted a mound in his bed. What he assumed was his wife turned out to be one of the family's dogs.
He grabbed his handgun and then fired as the shadowy figure came through the doorway.
Nicole was dead on site, but the couple's unborn child was delivered via C-section and died a week later.
It took investigators more than a year to charge Rupp with manslaughter through culpable negligence this past February.
The 34-year old had pleaded not guilty, and faced 15 years in prison if convicted. But he changed his plea to no contest this week.
A judge handed Rupp five years probation, forfeiture of his firearms and he must undergo a mental health evaluation and treatment, if needed.
The man's defense attorney says the sentence works out best for Rupp, who can now be free to take care of the couple's young son.