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Minn. Man Gets Life Without Parole For Killing Ex

MANKATO, Minn. (AP) -- A Burnsville man has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for fatally shooting his ex-wife in front of their three children.

A Blue Earth County jury on Monday determined that 35-year-old Joel Munt was not insane when he murdered his ex-wife.

The Free Press reports the jury heard less than an hour of testimony about Munt's mental state and then deliberated for about 35 minutes.

Last week the jury found Munt guilty of first-degree murder. Munt was accused of shooting his ex-wife Svetlana Munt in a Mankato park last year after ramming her car into a tree. The couple's children saw the shooting.

In closing arguments during the insanity portion of the trial Monday, a defense attorney said Munt believed the shooting was an act of God.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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