Texarkana woman gets life in prison in square dancer's death

TEXARKANA — A woman has been sentenced to life in prison in connection with the death of a fellow square dancer in Texarkana.

The Texarkana Gazette reported that 67-year-old Virginia Ann Hyatt received a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole Monday after a jury found her guilty in the death of 59-year-old Patti Wheelington, who was shot five times on her front porch in December 2013.

The women were both members of the Guys and Dolls Square Dancing Club.

During the five-day testimony, witnesses said Hyatt was jealous of other women, especially Wheelington, and very possessive of her husband, James Hyatt.

James Hyatt testified that he and his wife hadn't been intimate in a decade and that he and Wheelington became romantic in 2009.

Read Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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