Wife Of Slain Vestavia Police Officer Sentenced To 20 Years

BIRMINGHAM, AL — The wife of slain Vestavia Hills Police officer Andy Kimbrel was sentenced to 20 years in prison in the 2019 shooting death of her husband.

Kimbrel was shot and killed in Gardendale May 3, 2019, and his wife, Stephanie Nicole Keller, was charged with murder initially, but her charge was lessened to manslaughter. Thursday, Keller was sentenced by Jefferson County Circuit Judge Alaric May.

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Kimbrel's daighter said the couple fought that evening leading up to the shooting. She told investigators she heard her father say something similar to, "If you think I'm such a bad person, why don't you just shoot me?" She said Keller replied, "Give me your gun."

According to the autopsy, Pannell testified, Kimbrel was shot close to the top of his head in a downward trajectory. Kimbrel was pronounced dead at UAB Hospital in the predawn hours of May 3, 2019.

Kimbrel had been with the department since October 2002, and had served as a patrol officer, school resource officer at Vestavia Hills Elementary West and Vestavia Hills High School.