Revette Sauser of northeast Iowa convicted of killing husband Terry and sentenced to life in prison

MANCHESTER, Iowa (AP) — A northeastern Iowa woman convicted of killing her husband a decade ago has been sentenced to life in prison — a significant increase from the previous 40 years she had been handed before her appeal in the case.

Revette Sauser, 52, of Ryan, was sentenced this week in Delaware County District Court after a Clayton County jury found her guilty last month of first-degree murder in the 2011 shooting death of 59-year-old Terry Sauser in their home in Ryan, the Telegraph Herald reported.

In 2012, Revette Sauser pleaded guilty to reduced charges of kidnapping, voluntary manslaughter and going armed with intent in a deal with prosecutors, and was sentenced to 40 years in prison.

She had served nine of those years when the Iowa Supreme Court sided with her on appeal and sent her case back to the trial court, saying there was no basis for the kidnapping charge. However, the state's high court ruled that the original charge of first-degree murder must be reinstated if the kidnapping charge couldn’t be justified.

In last month's trial, prosecutors argued that Revette Sauser planned her husband's killing out of anger and jealousy. Her defense attorney insisted she accidentally shot her husband.