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SIDNEY, Neb. (AP) — A western Nebraska woman convicted of helping her husband to kill himself has been sentenced to time served and probation.
Deann Kimble was sentenced Thursday in Cheyenne County District Court to the 79 days in jail she had already served and three years of probation. On April 24 Kimble pleaded no contest to a felony charge of aiding a suicide. In exchange for her plea, prosecutors dropped a charge of concealing human remains.
Deputies say Kimble told them she promised 61-year-old Russell Kimble that she would not intervene when he decided it was "his time to die."
A Cheyenne County court affidavit filed by a sheriff's deputy says Deann Kimble married Russell shortly after meeting him July 4, 2004. She told investigators that Russell Kimble insisted on four conditions before they wed: No intervention when he decided to kill himself; tell no one of his intentions; no funeral or burial; and she had to be willing to support his choice and endure any legal or other backlash.
He was a former U.S. Navy medic who frequently diagnosed himself, Deann Kimble said. He was certain he had a lung disease and that his kidneys were failing.
Deann Kimble told the investigators that her husband shot himself March 22 inside their rural Sidney home, using her youth mode, 20-gauge shotgun because he couldn't properly align his larger shotgun. As he made his final preparations, she said, she went outside and sat in their van. She turned up the radio volume and listened to two songs and one commercial. He was dead when she went back inside.
She said she wrapped his body in a shower curtain and a sheet, dragged it out of their home and then used a cargo strap to attach it to the van. She towed the body a short distance to where they disposed of their trash and covered the body with gravel, dirt and firewood.
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