Springfield man sentenced for beating death of girlfriend

A man from Springfield has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after entering an Alford plea to voluntary manslaughter in the 2020 beating death of his girlfriend.

57-year-old John Schuck entered the plea in the death of 54-year-old Tammy Colbert. Prosecutors dropped a more serious charge of second-degree murder in exchange for Schuck’s plea to the lesser count.

An Alford plea is one in which the defendant does not admit guilt, but acknowledges prosecutors have enough evidence to get a conviction.