Man gets life in prison for suffocation death

A 46-year-old Kansas City man was sentenced to life in prison Friday for smothering a former girlfriend with a pillow.

Clay County Prosecutor Daniel White said William M. Shivers will serve about 25 years under current sentencing provisions. He was convicted by a jury of second-degree murder for the April 26, 2011, death of 40-year-old Julie Johnson. Police found her body in a home in the 10300 block of North Tracy Avenue. She was the mother of three sons.

Shivers called his estranged wife after the killing and told her what happened. The wife’s boyfriend called police.