Tina Talbot freed from prison after 20-month sentence for killing abusive husband

Tina Talbot walks out of Huron Valley Womens Correctional facility after 20 months to cheers and clapping as she is embraced by family and friends. Detroit Free Press

Light snow fell before the sun came up Tuesday morning, and Tina Talbot took her first steps toward freedom in 20 months as she left Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility, Michigan’s only prison for women.

Her family and friends clapped and cheered as she walked out of the Ypsilanti prison carrying a cardboard box full of her things. 

She cried as she wrapped her arms around her 9-year-old son, Phillip, and said, “I love you so much.” Because of coronavirus visitor restrictions, she hasn’t seen him since March. 

Talbot bears scars from decades of abuse that may fade, but will never go away, no matter how much time passes. But the deepest injuries are invisible, known only to those who’ve heard the story of the Oakland County woman who pulled the trigger of her husband’s gun twice on a warm and sunny September day in 2018, killing him.

Tina Talbot embraces her son Phillip Talbot, 9, after being released from Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility surrounded by family and friends in Ypsilanti, Mich. in the early morning hours of Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020.

 (Photo: Kimberly P. Mitchell, Detroit Free Press)

She had no choice, she said, because shooting her husband, Milosz Szczepanowicz, was the only way she could live. It was the only way their son could live after her husband had threatened to end both their lives. 

Talbot served a few days more than the minimum of a 20-month to 15-year sentence in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter in the death of her husband as part of a deal negotiated with Oakland County prosecutors.

Talbot, 53, of Waterford Township will now serve a 24-month parole, and said she will work toward rebuilding her life and the relationships that were put on hold when she was locked away.

Tina Talbot looks to her attorney, Jerome Sabbota, as Oakland County Sheriff’s deputies put her in handcuffs to escort her out of an Oakland County courtroom after she is sentenced on April 4, 2019. Talbot was sentenced to 20-months-15 years for the shooting death of her husband, Milosz Szczepanowicz.

 (Photo: Aileen Wingblad, The Oakland Press/AP)

“I have missed holidays, birthdays and my son’s many milestones,” Talbot wrote in a June letter from prison that was posted to her Pardon for Tina Facebook page. “These are things and times I will never get back. I can, however, appreciate every day that God gives me and I get up in the morning and I know now that I will never again take anything for granted, no matter how small and minor in my eyes. Love each other, practice compassion, understanding and kindness not because it’s expected, but because it is right.”

More: Oakland County woman describes torture, abuse from husband — and the day she killed him

More: Michigan woman Tina Talbot, who killed her abusive husband, granted parole, advocates say

That Talbot was ever charged in Szczepanowicz’s death given the extent of her injuries outraged domestic violence advocates who said it was act of self-defense.

Tina Talbot’s injuries are photographed on Sept. 14, 2018, the day she was arrested in the fatal shooting of her husband, Milosz Szczepanowicz. This Waterford Police photo was provided to the Free Press by her friend, Janene Staley.

 (Photo: Waterford Police Department)

For four days leading up to the shooting, Talbot said Szczepanowicz was unrelenting in his abuse, breaking a chair over her arm, kicking her and beating her so severely both of her lungs were partially collapsed, her spleen was ruptured, and her ribs and an arm were broken.  

After Talbot fired the fatal shots, she called 911 and confessed to the killing. Police took photographs of her injuries, and she was hospitalized. 

Still, Oakland County Circuit Judge Martha Anderson said at her sentencing: “Ms. Talbot was severely abused in this relationship, but the taking of another life is still a crime, and that has to be accounted for.”

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Nearly 260,000 people signed a Change.org petition lobbying Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to grant a pardon for Talbot. Supporters donated money for her legal defense and to help her rebuild her life once she was released from prison. That pardon never came through but her parole was granted.

Szczepanowicz’s mother, Teresa Szczepanowicz, denies her son abused Talbot and also started a Change.org petition opposing any pardon or parole, which has gotten 363 signatures. The Szczepanowicz family also appealed Talbot’s parole, but those motions were denied. 

Now, Talbot embarks on a second chance at life with 9-year-old Phillip by her side. 

Her friend Michelle Bain hugged Talbot Tuesday morning, and said the last 20 months have been a long ordeal. 

“She should have never been here,” Bain said. “She’s just the sweetest thing in the world. … He was a monster.” 

Contact Kristen Shamus: kshamus@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @kristenshamus. 

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