Prison for man who confessed to killing ‘ex-girlfriend’

[Watch previous FOX 8 I-Team coverage in the player above.]

CLEVELAND (WJW) — A man who police said shot and killed his “ex-girlfriend,” then called 911 to confess is headed to prison.

“Um, it’s the killer,” Joshua Ward, 39, of Euclid , is heard telling a dispatcher on the 911 call, obtained by the FOX 8 I-Team . “I just killed my ex-girlfriend. I shot her in the head.”

Ward faced charges including aggravated murder, felonious assault and having weapons while under disability after shooting 43-year-old Shievon Seats in the head at her home along East Overlook Road in Cleveland Heights the morning of Jan. 15.

Investigators found her dead on the kitchen floor of the home, the I-Team reported that month .

Ward had been scheduled for trial on April 3, but ultimately pleaded guilty that day to an amended charge of involuntary manslaughter — which was reduced from murder — as well as the assault and weapons charges. Prosecutors dropped three of his other indicted charges, including aggravated murder, murder and felonious assault, court records show.

A judge on Tuesday sentenced Ward to serve at least 25 years in prison, up to 30 1/2 years, according to a spokesperson from the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office.

He’ll also be subject to post-release control for two to five years upon release.

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