Norfolk, Va. • A Utah man who was in a love triangle and mistakenly killed a Virginia elementary school teacher was sentenced Friday to 22 years in prison.
Ed Shaw, 72, was sentenced after pleading guilty in October to second-degree murder in the death of Caroline Hendrix, The Virginian-Pilot reported.
Court documents said Shaw and his now-24-year-old ex-lover Teniqu Cushman plotted to kill Alex Novak, Cushman's ex-boyfriend. Prosecutor Brent Johnson said Cushman told Shaw that Novak emotionally abused her and she wanted Shaw to exact revenge on Novak.
The man, from Sevier, attempted to kill Novak on New Year’s Eve 2017 but instead fatally shot Hendrix, who was a long-time friend of Novak’s. She was sitting in Novak’s car when Shaw shot her.
Novak was in a nearby garage and came out and shot Shaw. Chesapeake police found Shaw suffering from gunshot wounds on the side of the car. He told authorities a driver shot him on Interstate 64, but state police said they didn't find evidence to support his claim.
Cushman admitted to giving Shaw information to kill Novak. She pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit first-degree murder and was sentenced in November to six years and nine months.
“My whole word falls apart and I knew, because of my careless actions, someone was gone from the Earth who didn’t deserve it," Cushman said.
