ADRIAN — A Raisin Township man who shot his wife to death outside their home after she told him she wanted to end their relationship was sentenced to up to 60 years in prison Thursday.

Michael Lee Allison, 46, knew what he was going to do on the evening of July 4, 2022, when he grabbed a shotgun, told his and Nicole Marie Allison’s oldest child to call 911, and chased after her as she fled their Gady Road home, Nicole’s sister, Barb Adkins, told Lenawee County Circuit Judge Anna Marie Anzalone. He first shot her in the butt — “Your words,” she said in an aside to Michael Allison — before she turned over in the ditch and he shot her in the heart.

Michael Allison had just shot Nicole, who was 27 when she died, when a Raisin Township police officer pulled up after being dispatched to a report of gunshots. After the officer told Allison several times to put the gun down and lie down, he did and was taken into custody.

He later told a Raisin Township sergeant, and a Lenawee County Sheriff’s Office detective, that he and Nicole were inside their home when he punched her several times after she told him their relationship was over. She fled the house looking for help, and he chased after her with the shotgun and shot her twice.

Anzalone sentenced Allison to 20 to 50 years in prison, which followed the plea agreement Allison agreed to in pleading guilty to second-degree murder. The agreement called for a minimum sentence of 20 years and a maximum term of any length except life.

“You destroyed a lot of people’s lives that day,” Anzalone said, noting the effects of the murder on relatives and friends. “…You shot her like an animal in the street, on the property, in front of her children. … People like you make women not safe in this world.”

Only the plea agreement is giving him any chance of getting out of prison, she told Allison.

Anzalone also ordered him to pay $5,000 in restitution for funeral expenses and court costs. She gave him credit for the 697 days he’s served in jail since he was arrested. She also ordered him to not have contact with Nicole’s family.

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Because he was unable to control his anger, Lenawee County Assistant Prosecutor Douglas Hartung said, Allison won’t be able to raise his and Nicole’s three young children and his three older children from a prior relationship. Hartung and Adkins said Nicole’s father, Rob Schneider, likely died prematurely from a broken heart. Hartung said her mother, Linda Schneider, couldn’t attend the sentencing because it would be too stressful for her.

Hartung called the situation tragic and sad “because you couldn’t control your emotions at the time this happened.”

Allison’s attorney, Lenawee County Chief Public Defender John Glaser, said his client is remorseful and as something that never should have happened. He said Allison was enraged and he got out of control.

Allison apologized to the families and said he wants his and Nicole’s sons to know his side of their family.

“I loved Nicole,” he said. “I loved her so much.”

They had just been looking at property in Kentucky, so her telling him she wanted to end their relationship came out of nowhere, he said.

— Contact reporter David Panian at dpanian@lenconnect.com or follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @lenaweepanian.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Raisin Township man who shot wife sentenced to prison