A Van Buren County man who shot his estranged wife’s lover has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted earlier this year on charges of second-degree murder.The convicted killer, Bobby L. Looper, 55, was sentenced to 20 years following a sentencing hearing Monday before Circuit Court Judge Bart Stanley at Van Buren County Courthouse in Spencer. The term was mid-range for the crime, which carries 15 to 25 years in prison.Looper was convicted in February following a jury trial for the murder of his cousin, Michael L. Hensley, 42, who was gunned down in Looper’s home in the Mooneyham community on the night of Dec. 3, 2009.Prosecutors told jurors the shooting likely came due to issues Looper had concerning his estranged wife, Gail Hixson, 49. Hensley, who was also estranged from his own wife at the time, had reportedly been meeting Hixson in secret leading up to the night of the killing.
Looper gets 20 years for murder