The Augusta woman who killed her husband and buried him in a shallow grave will serve up to 20 years in prison.
Sandra Leigh Dales, 58, claimed at trial that years of abuse prompted her to spontaneously kill Edward Cruey, 55, in November 2019.
A jury found her guilty of voluntary manslaughter and felony murder April 21.
Richmond County Superior Court Judge Jesse Stone said Dales was a “tough case to sentence.”
While the jury didn’t buy her claim of self-defense, it did acknowledge Dales suffered from Battered Person Syndrome, he said.
The multiple family members who gave victim impact statements and supporters of Dales portrayed Cruey so differently Wednesday, Stone made a comparison to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
The family traveled from Virginia in in December 2019 to look for Cruey after not hearing from him. Dales said he’d just walked off.
MORE: Defense paints picture of battered person, who buried husband
When the family told the story to local media, Dales provided vague tips while her husband’s body was in a hole in the ground.
After searching homeless shelters, wooded areas and around the lake, they filed a missing person report and posted fliers, Cruey’s younger brother Caleb Cruey said.
Only when Dales confessed to a neighbor weeks later did they find his body, covered in lime with his head smashed in by a metal pole.
Then a new Pentecostal preacher, Caleb Cruey said he had to give his first sermon that December not knowing where his brother was.
“She knew where my brother was,” Cruey said during the two-hour sentencing hearing.
He and other family members called for Dales to receive the maximum sentence of 30 years.
Caleb Cruey’s twin brother Kyle, a Virginia police officer, said his older brother Eddie inspired him to join the Army and run for elected office, and taught him woodworking and fishing.
But when Kyle Cruey graduated from the police academy, Eddie Cruey couldn’t be there, he said.
“His life had been stolen from him,” he said.
Sister Cynthia Gunther recalled her childhood with Cruey and the time they spent as a military family in Europe.
Sandra Dales found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, concealing death
If the Cruey and Dales were having marital problems, she should have “stepped away” and gotten help, Gunther said.
“She did not have to take a further step,” she said. “This whole thing could have been prevented. We would still have Eddie.”
Father Jerry Cruey, a retired major in the Army, said his son had been an EMT and pilot earlier in life. “None of her (Dales’) family members joined in the search,” he said.
Dales, who has been in jail since her arrest in February 2019, spoke to the court and Cruey’s family from a jail video monitor.
“My fairy tale marriage ended in tragedy,” she said. “My heart goes out to the Cruey family. From the depths of my soul, I cry out to their broken hearts.”
Neighbor Lucas Johnson said Cruey’s family members knew him from “hundreds of miles away,” while Johnson knew him from a few hundred feet.
Johnson said he saw Dales’ injuries, aggravation and fear, while Cruey picked fights with people.
Defense attorney Jennifer Cross said Dales was “trapped in an abusive relationship,” as multiple witnesses testified at trial.
She’s also been accepted into a program that treats victims of domestic violence who also have substance abuse issues, Cross said.
Stone sentenced Dales to 20 years for voluntary manslaughter and 10 years for concealing a death, to serve concurrently.
