A former police officer who was once honored as a hero has been sentenced to 25 years in prison after being convicted of shooting and killing his wife in front of their two young children in a jealous rage, prosecutors say.
Kevin Canty, 44, pleaded guilty last fall in the killing of his 40-year-old wife, Jessica.
"He pulled the trigger over and over again," Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said in a press release Wednesday. "The woman didn't have a chance. The sentence meted out today is more than warranted."
Canty apologized to his family in court during sentencing.
"His apology was sincere. I believe it was sincere," Jessica Canty's sister told NBC 4 after the sentencing. "He had to come clean... especially to his daughter. She needed to hear that."
The victim's sister said she has quit her job to take care of the Cantys' now orphaned children.
Canty admitted he shot his wife seven times as their 6- and 9-year-old children watched inside their Ozone Park, Queens home on April 19, 2014. Jessica Canty was found in the home with 10 gunshot wounds.
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After the shooting, Canty told detectives "I'm sorry" and said he loved his wife, but she was cheating on him.
One neighbor said she saw the children run into a nearby deli screaming for help and saying their father had just shot their mother.
Canty retired from the police department in 2013. He was honored in 2012 for helping save a subway rider who had a heart attack.
The couple had been together since they were teenagers and have a 20-year-old daughter in addition to the two children who witnessed the shooting.
