A Princeton man has been found guilty of murdering his wife over two years ago, following more than four hours of jury deliberation in Caldwell County Circuit Court on Wednesday.
Byron Black faced charges of murder and abuse of a corpse after law enforcement found the body of his wife, Kelly Black, during a welfare check at a residence on Center Street in Princeton on January 28, 2024. Shortly after the discovery, authorities issued an amber alert when they were unable to locate the couple’s 5-year-old daughter, who was thought to be with Byron.
During the investigation, Princeton Police reported officers found Black’s pickup truck at a hotel in Princeton, where he was taken into custody on a warrant on January 29, 2024, and his daughter was found unharmed. State police also reported that detectives recovered a handgun from Black’s truck at the hotel.
Black was accused of shooting his wife in the back of the head sometime after picking her up at the Nashville airport, following her arrival from California.
The trial for Black began Monday morning in Caldwell Circuit Court before Judge Jamus Redd, with 14 jurors selected to hear the case. Commonwealth’s Attorney Carrie Ovey-Wiggins prosecuted the case, and Bill Deatherage of Hopkinsville represented Black.
On the third day of the trial, the jury began deliberations around 10:50 a.m. on Wednesday after two jurors were withdrawn from the case. Following approximately 4 ½ hours of deliberation, the 12-member jury returned a guilty verdict on both the murder and abuse of a corpse charges. Black was sentenced to 24 years for murder and one year for abuse of a corpse, with the sentences to be served consecutively.
Judge Redd scheduled formal sentencing on Tuesday, April 7th.
