MORGANTOWN — A Butler County woman entered a guilty plea in the shooting death of her husband the day a trial was scheduled to begin.

Kathy Boord, 51, of Morgantown, pleaded guilty Wednesday morning in Butler Circuit Court to reckless homicide and was given a five-year sentence, according to Butler County Commonwealth’s Attorney Tim Coleman.

Boord was charged originally with murder, tampering with physical evidence and possession of marijuana in connection with the death of Judson Scott Boord, 47, who was shot once in the back on June 24, 2012, in a garage at their home near the Logan County line.

He died four days later at The Medical Center at Bowling Green.

The trial had been scheduled to begin Wednesday, but Kathy Boord reached a plea agreement reducing the murder charge to reckless homicide and dismissing the other two counts.

Going by his middle name, Scott Boord was a tile setter in the Chicago area for several years before health concerns led him to leave that field of work, said his son, Al Boord.

“All he wanted to do was move south and retire and he was only able to do that for a couple years,” Al Boord said on Wednesday after court adjourned.

The Butler County Sheriff’s Office responded to the shooting initially, and the investigation was then turned over to the Kentucky State Police.

Kathy Boord was released on a partially secured bond shortly after her arrest in 2012 and remained free until being taken into custody on Wednesday after entering her guilty plea.

Arlene Bodza, Scott Boord’s mother, said the path the case took through the justice system wore on her after four years.

“She had four Christmases, my son did not,” Bodza said of Kathy Boord. “I’m glad it’s over…I’ve had a lot of sleepless nights.”

Kathy Boord’s attorney, Stewart Wheeler, maintained that she did not intend to kill her husband and that the couple had a stable marriage. 

— Follow courts reporter Justin Story on Twitter @jstorydailynews or visit bgdailynews.com