A Madisonville man will spend the rest of his life in prison after pleading guilty Tuesday to the murder of a woman in Earlington in 2020.
The Hopkins County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office reports that 37-year-old Dennis Stone of Madisonville pled guilty to the shooting death of Nicole Merrill, which happened in August of 2020 in the parking lot of the Ideal Market in Earlington. Merrill was holding a child at the time of the killing, and the child was also injured.
Along with the murder charge, Stone also pled guilty to first-degree assault, with a recommended ten-year sentence on that charge, and 12 counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, which come with five-year sentences on each count.
The guilty plea to murder comes with a life sentence.