NJ police dispatcher sentenced for killing wife in front of toddler

JERSEY CITY — A former police dispatcher convicted of strangling his wife as their toddler son watched is now headed to prison.

Kevin Montone received a 30-year sentence Wednesday for the murder, with no chance of parole. He also received a 10-year term for child endangerment that must be served consecutively.

The 37-year-old Jersey City man continued to maintain his innocence, telling the judge he was convicted as a result of a botched autopsy. He had worked for the Jersey City police department at the time his wife was killed.

Hudson County prosecutors have said Montone beat and strangled his 34-year-old wife, Monica, in August 2014. They say the couple's then 2-year-old told authorities that Montone attacked his wife during an argument.