FRANKLIN — A man who had admitted guilt for his role in the death of a woman in a Simpson County hotel room was sentenced Monday to 20 years in prison.

Kristen N. Tunks, 54, of Bowling Green, was sentenced in Simpson Circuit Court after pleading guilty earlier this month to charges of first-degree manslaughter, tampering with physical evidence and first-degree possession of a controlled substance.

Tunks acknowledged causing the death of Felecia Martin Peacock, 50, of Auburn, whose body was found by her friends in a hotel room at Holiday Inn Express in Franklin on Dec. 11, 2022.

Tunks was charged originally with murder and tampering with evidence, while the drug possession charge was returned against him in a separate indictment.

A trial that had been set to begin March 3 was postponed, and a mediation session involving all parties and Peacock’s family led to the case being resolved with a guilty plea.

Simpson Circuit Judge Mark Thurmond said in court that it was a “difficult case,” but he felt the 20-year sentence was appropriate to impose following plea negotiations.

Several members of Peacock’s family sat in the front row of the gallery for the sentencing.

“Unfortunately, there’s nothing the court can do to bring your loved one back, but what I can do is impose the penalty agreed upon by the parties,” Thurmond said while addressing the surviving family members in attendance.

Peacock’s fiancee, Michael McGee, briefly addressed the court during the hearing, talking about the impact of Peacock’s death on those close to her.

“She was the love of my life,” McGee said.

An autopsy determined Peacock died due to manual strangulation, and the state medical examiner’s report also noted skull fractures.

The Franklin Police Department investigated the homicide.

According to court records, surveillance footage from the hotel shows a man entering a hotel room with Peacock in the early morning hours of Dec. 11, 2022.

Peacock leaves to go to a neighboring room soon afterward, and then returns to her room three minutes later, court records show.

The man, identified as Tunks, left the room at a certain point afterward, returned within four minutes and left for good 51 minutes after he and Peacock are first seen on camera, according to court records.

A cell phone belonging to Peacock was found along Interstate 65 by police during the course of the investigation.

Tunks was arrested Dec. 16, 2022, by the Bowling Green Police Department, which located him at The Mint in Bowling Green.