Life in prison for Jacksonville man convicted of murdering former girlfriend and attempted murder of

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Life in prison.

That’s the sentence handed down to the man convicted of murdering his former girlfriend and attempting to kill her sister on Halloween night five years ago.

Because the prosecution did not seek the death penalty in this case, life in prison was the stiffest penalty Chad Absher faced.

The judge gave him two life sentences for the murder and attempted murder of the sisters, plus a 15-year sentence for illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

On Halloween night in 2017, Chad Absher shot his then-girlfriend Ashlee Rucker and her sister Lisa Rucker.

Ashlee lost her life.

Lisa survived, but still carries the scars from that tragic day.

A jury found Absher guilty of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder earlier this month, just two days before what would have been Ashlee’s 36th birthday.

On Thursday, Lisa took the stand and delivered her victim impact statement, asking for Absher to spend the rest of his life behind bars.

After the verdict came down, Lisa was joined by friends and family outside the courthouse where they read a poem before releasing butterflies, symbolizing Ashlee’s flight to heaven.

Lisa said she was happy with the verdict but had hoped to see Absher show some remorse.

“Now, no one will ever possibly be hurt by him again and like I said before, he may not seem like it’s much to him now, but one day it will all hit him. It’ll all come down one day,” said Lisa Rucker.

Before handing down the sentence, the judge called the details of the case ‘horrifying’ and said it was all made worse because the Rucker sisters’ two children were present during the shooting.

She said she hoped the sentence would provide the family some relief.

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