York, Nebraska, man sentenced to nearly 100 years in prison for murder of wife

YORK, Neb. — A 48-year-old York man was given what is essentially a life sentence for the murder of his wife earlier this year.

In front of about 20 people in the courtroom, including some of Stacie Beutler’s family, York County District Judge James C. Stecker sentenced Bart Beutler to 60 to 80 years in prison for second-degree murder and 40 to 50 years for possession of a deadly weapon. The sentences are to be served one after the other.

Including the credit of 274 days that Beutler received for the time he has spent in jail leading up to trial, his total minimum sentence is just over 99 years.

In January, York police arrested Beutler after he called 911 to report a shooting, according to a police affidavit. He told dispatchers that his wife was dead. “I shot her, I’m sorry,” Beutler said, according to the court record.

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When police arrived, they found Stacie Beutler dead from multiple gunshot wounds.

According to the police documents, on Jan. 30 Beutler “lost it” after Stacie Beutler kept waking him up. He had arrived home drunk after work, his defense attorney, Matthew J. McDonald, said Monday. He used a semi-automatic handgun and shot her 10 times, prosecutors said.

After originally pleading not guilty, Beutler entered into a plea deal in August with prosecutors, pleading no contest to second-degree murder and possession of a deadly weapon.

The prosecutors sought a life sentence Monday.

“We believe Mr. Beutler should never step outside a jail cell again,” Corey M. O’Brien, a prosecutor from the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office, said. He was joined by York County Attorney Gary Olson.

O’Brien called Beutler a “poster child” for someone who should not be able to leave prison. Beutler had previously served 11 years in Arizona for second-degree murder, making it illegal for him to own firearms, according to Nebraska law.

McDonald asked the judge to look at the case “individually” and argued for a sentence of 30 to 40 years, noting that Beutler had called 911 right after the incident. The “only thing he wants is to get out before he dies,” McDonald said. Beutler did not “pull the trigger” in Arizona, McDonald added.

At the beginning of the hearing, one of Stacie Beutler’s daughters spoke from the witness stand. She said that her mother was a “thriving, ambitious woman,” forced to defend herself against “this narcissistic man.”

The daughter said that she cried the last time she saw her mother, telling her mother that she had a feeling that she would never see her again. She expressed concern to her mother about Bart Beutler that day, she said.

“She was taken with an unfinished story,” Stacie Beutler’s daughter said. Her two sisters sat in the jury box to provide support as their sister spoke.

McDonald said that Bart Beutler decided not to speak out of “respect” for the wishes of Stacie Beutler’s daughters. O’Brien had informed the judge that Stacie Beutler’s daughters would leave the room if Beutler decided to speak. Bart Beutler previously shared a letter of apology.

Stecker said that Beutler’s blood alcohol level was below the legal limit when it was tested around two hours after the incident, suggesting that alcohol was not the key factor in his actions.

“You’ve experienced profound loss. I hope you can heal,” Stecker told Stacie Beutler’s daughters.

As Stecker issued the sentence, “yes” could be heard from some people in the courtroom.

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