CENTER, Neb. (AP) — A 66-year-old man has been given 40 to 60 years in prison for killing his wife in northeast Nebraska.

Phillip Privett, of Verdigre (VUR’-dih-gree), had pleaded no contest and was convicted of second-degree murder and a weapons charge after prosecutors lowered the murder charge. He was sentenced last week in Knox County District Court.

Prosecutors say Privett shot to death his wife, 66-year-old Linda Privett, at their home in Verdigre on Oct. 20.