MACOMB TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A husband refused to appear at his sentencing hearing Wednesday morning in the murder of his wife while she was on the phone with 911 at their home in Macomb Township.
Hal Byrom, 44, pleaded no contest to first-degree murder and felony firearms violations. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The shooting happened Oct. 1, 2016, in the 1600 block of Country Ridge Lane.
ORIGINAL REPORT: 911 call released in Macomb Township homicide, attempted suicide
Ebony Byrom was on the phone with 911 dispatchers when she was shot and killed by her husband. She could be heard telling a 911 dispatcher that the couple had been in a dispute and that her husband was retrieving his belongings, but it was late and she wanted him gone.
"We had an argument. he is getting all his stuff. I just want him to leave before it escalates," Ebony Byrom told the dispatcher. "He can just get his stuff another day. Tonight is not the night."
Dispatcher: Any weapons in the home?
Ebony: There is.
Dispatcher: OK, where's the weapon at?
Ebony: They're in the bedroom.
Listen to the full 911 call below:
The couple's 16-year-old son was in the home at the time of the shooting. He called 911 three minutes after the initial call.
When deputies arrived on the scene, both Ebony and Hal Byrom were lying on the floor with gunshot wounds.
Ebony Byrom was pronounced dead at the scene. She was shot 10 times.
Deputies located a .40 caliber handgun on the floor near where Hal Byrom was lying. He was taken to the hospital with a self-inflicted gunshot wound and arraigned on murder charges from his hospital room.
Ebony Byrom's two sisters spoke at the sentencing hearing. Listen to their statements below:
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