A jury recommended a 32-year sentence for a man found guilty of the shooting death of his long-time girlfriend.

Michael Keith McQueen is scheduled for formal sentencing March 19 in Laurel Circuit Court.

The jury deliberated only two hours before returning the guilty verdict Tuesday afternoon. Their options were to find McQueen guilty of murder, reckless homicide, second-degree manslaughter or not guilty. McQueen claimed the shooting of his girlfriend, Christina Hodge, was accidental.

McQueen faced a minimum of 20 years to a maximum of 50 years in prison or a life sentence. According to Pamela Bentley with the Office of Probation and Parole, the violent nature of the crime would require McQueen to serve 85 percent of the sentence or 20 years before his first parole eligibility. Bentley said that parole is seldom granted on the first eligibility hearing.

Hodge died Oct. 2, 2008 from a gunshot wound to the back of the head. According to McQueen’s initial police interview, he and Hodge were arguing and Hodge threatened to overdose on prescription pills. He found her in a wooded area behind their Haley Ridge Road residence and tried to get her to come back in the house. McQueen claimed he was helping Hodge stand up when the gun discharged accidentally.

Dwight Denkins with the KSP Forensic Lab testified that he tested the gun and found no problems with its operation. Denkins said that the gun required eight pounds of pressure to release the trigger and had special safety features to prevent accidental discharge.

“The gun has two safety mechanisms,” Denkins said. “The second is a firing pin block designed to prevent discharge unless you intentionally press the trigger.”

David Clem of the state crime lab said gunshot residue was found on the back of Hodge’s right hand but that none was found on McQueen’s hands. He said McQueen could have removed any gunshot residue by washing or wiping his hands.

Defense Attorney Stephen Charles asked the jury in closing arguments to consider the facts to support McQueen’s claim of the accidental shooting. Charles said when police arrived on the scene, McQueen was at his parents’ home.

“He had the gun, he didn’t change clothes, he didn’t run off,” Charles said. “There’s no evidence that he intentionally killed her.”

Commonwealth’s Attorney Jackie Steele pointed out conflicts in McQueen’s story.

“Don't mistake speculation with common sense,” Steele said. “He is the only one to tell us what happened. He has good reason to make it up. He knows we’re going to send him to prison.”

Other witnesses for the prosecution said forensic testing showed Hodge was sitting cross-legged on the ground when crime scene photographs were taken. Witnesses from the State Medical Examiner’s Office and the Kentucky State Police crime lab testified the blood stains from the crime scene “were not inconsistent” with McQueen’s videotaped police interview about the incident. The lack of blood on the blanket that Hodge reportedly had draped across her shoulders at the time of the shooting indicated that McQueen’s version of the incident was inconsistent.

Steele said during closing arguments that the evidence of Hodge having “less than therapeutic” levels of Trazadone in her blood disputed McQueen’s claim that she intended to commit suicide, as did McQueen’s claim of the accidental shooting. In McQueen’s police interview he said that he was holding Hodge’s shoulders to help her get up and the gun fell out of his pants waistband and discharged, striking Hodge. Another time he said she leaned forward as she was getting up and that she was “between” his chest and waist when the gun discharged. Steele said a bullet travels in a straight line and that a falling gun could not possibly discharge and strike Hodge at the angle of the fatal wound.

In the penalty phase, McQueen’s attorney, Douglas Benge, requested that only McQueen’s prior convictions, not charges, be considered by the jury. McQueen had no prior felony convictions but did have some domestic violence charges that were excluded by the jurors. He asked the jurors to have “compassion” in McQueen’s prison term.

“He is 38 years old,” Benge said. “The minimum time he’ll serve is 20 years. He will be 58 years old before he sees his children. This is tragic. I urge you to have compassion.”

Alene Steelman, McQueen’s aunt, said she believed McQueen’s story of the accidental shooting.

“This didn’t turn out the way it should have,” she said. “It’s not his nature to murder. I’ve known him all his life. I believe in my heart that it was an accident. The only witness is God and I pray that God go with him now.”

Family members of Christina Hodge smiled through their tears and squeezed each other’s hands as the guilty verdict was announced. Hodge’s mother, Debbie Payne Hogue, said justice had been served in the trial.

“I’m happy with the verdict,” Debbie Hodge said. “The prosecution did a great job. But I hope no other mother or father ever has to go through what we have in the last 16 months.”

Christina Hodge was Carl and Debbie Hodge’s only daughter.

“I have four sons and the last two are twins,” Debbie Hodge said. “She died on her brothers’ birthday, Oct. 2. I feel there is justice, but I don’t think there will ever be any closure. His (McQueen’s) family may feel hurt, but they still have a him. We can’t talk to ours. All we have is a tombstone and a grave to talk to or visit.”

Staff Writer Nita Johnson can be reached by email at njohnson@sentinel-echo.com