Man gets 25 years in prison for killing wife in front of daughter

WEST ASHLEY, SC (WCSC) - A man accused of killing his wife in front of their daughter in 2011 was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

According to court officials, Chesley Jones Black accepted a plea of manslaughter Monday morning. Officials say Black was offered the plea so that his daughter would not have to testify against him.

Authorities say Black killed his wife, 25-year-old Amanda Kalman, at their Fife Lane home in West Ashley in September 2011.

Investigators say Black and Kalman's daughter, who was 4 years old at the time, told them her parents were arguing and fighting inside the home when her father stabbed and killed her mother.

The couple's 2-year-old daughter was also in the home at the time of the murder, investigators say. Sheriff Al Cannon said after the murder, Black dropped off his 4-year-old at Kalman's sister's house before fleeing Charleston County with the 2-year-old.

Black was arrested days later by deputies in Sumter County after they found him with his daughter.

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