Overland Park man sentenced for killing woman he thought was a zombie
An Overland Park man was sentenced Monday to nearly 17 years in prison for strangling and beating a woman to death last year.
Christopher Duane Wallace was under the influence of methamphetamine and later told police he thought 35-year-old Jennifer Lopez was a zombie when he attacked her in January 2016.
Wallace, 38, pleaded no contest in February and was found guilty of second-degree murder in Lopez’s death.
On Monday, a Johnson County judge followed plea negotiations and sentenced Wallace to 16 years and 11 months in prison.
Wallace had called Overland Park police to the apartment he and Lopez shared in the 6100 block of Foster Street and said he had beaten his roommate to death, according to court documents.
After he was arrested, Wallace told police that he had been high on methamphetamine.
He said he had fallen asleep and when Lopez woke him up, he began beating her because he thought she was a zombie, according to the documents.
Tony Rizzo: 816-234-4435, @trizzkc
This story was originally published April 3, 2017 at 3:40 PM with the headline "Overland Park man sentenced for killing woman he thought was a zombie."