Woman sentenced in homicide case

The 52-year-old woman who killed a man she claimed was her husband, but was actually not married to, was sentenced to prison under the terms of a plea agreement she had previously reached with prosecutors.

Superior Court Judge sentenced Margo Moore, a.k.a. Margo Kirkham, formerly of 985 S. 20th Ave., No. 2, on Tuesday to three years in prison on one count of negligent homicide in the Aug. 11, 2006, death of 53-year-old William Kirkham.

"My congratulations to judge Gould for giving the sentence that he did," said Margo's brother, Kevin Radde. "This is the longest period of soberiety Margo has ever had."

Moore, who had also pleaded guilty to one count of attempted possession of dangerous drugs, was sentenced to a term of probation for that charge.

Radde, who lives in Florida, added however that he was disappointed that the Yuma County Attorney's Office chose to resolve the case through a plea agreement and that Moore's charges were reduced as a result.

The term of probation is to be served consecutive to the prison sentence, according to Roger Nelson, chief criminal deputy attorney for the Yuma County Attorney's Office.

Gould, due to the circumstances of the crimes, imposed an aggravated sentence on the prison sentence.

According to court records, Yuma County sheriff's deputies responded to a call by a third party about a deceased person around 12:30 p.m. that August day at the couple's 20th Avenue apartment.

When deputies arrived, they found William Kirkham inside the residence. Evidence at the scene indicated he had been dead for several hours, court records revealed.

According to court records, William Kirkham's body was found lying on a bed with what appeared to be injuries to the back of his head that caused massive amounts of blood to soak into the mattress.

Upon a further search of the residence, a black garbage bag was found that contained women's clothing, a broken lamp, a blood-soaked pillow and a blood-soaked towel, court records indicated.

According to Yuma County Sheriff's Office officials, Margo and William Kirkham were not legally married, despite sharing the same last name.