SALEM, Va. – The Christiansburg man who shot and killed another man in Salem will now spend 26 years in prison.
On Wednesday, Zane Christian appeared in Salem Circuit Court and where he was sentenced for the series of events on Nov. 9, 2020, when he shot and killed 27-year-old Rico Turner at the Lakeside Shopping Center parking lot in Salem.
[Family and friends grieve the loss of Rico Turner, murdered by fiancee’s estranged husband]
In October, Christian entered a plea of no contest to second-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and two counts of shooting into an occupied vehicle.
He was sentenced to 21 years on the first count, three years on the second and one year for each of the two remaining charges.
The maximum sentence Christian could have received was up to 43 years, but during Christian’s sentencing, the Judge cited Christian’s remorsefulness as a reason for a lower sentence.
“I first off want to say that I’m sorry for the trauma I caused to the Turner family,” said Christian. “Not a day goes by that I don’t think of November 9th, 2020 and the wrongfulness of my actions.”
After his time in prison, he’ll be on probation for 10 years and is no longer allowed to have contact with his estranged wife.
During a March 2021 hearing, Christian’s estranged wife, Emily Christian, testified that she and Christian had a custody hearing that resulted in his child support payments increasing one week before the shooting happened.
Emily Christian testified during Zane’s sentencing Wednesday saying her life has been a ‘nightmare’ since the shooting.
“Ever since this happened, it has been like living in a nightmare, having to raise two kids who were there who witnessed it happen. Having to answer questions that no kid that age should know,” said Emily Christian.