SPRING, Texas – The husband of a murdered woman believes justice was not served in her court case.
In the innocent faces of his young sons, Keith Schuchardt sees a beautiful reminder of his wife Kala Schuchardt.
"The way they smile, the way they sleep," said Schuchardt, "I see it in their eyes."
Schuchardt said when the boys are older he wants to keep reminding them their mother loved them and now she is safe in heaven.
Prosecutors said Verna McClain shot and killed Kala Schuchardt outside her pediatrician's office, and then kidnapped Kala's then three day old son Keegan. Investigators said McClain planned to pass the newborn off as her own child in an effort to please her boyfriend.
Now instead of standing trial, McClain pleaded guilty and received life in prison with no chance of parole.
The Montgomery County District Attorney initially planned to pursue the death penalty, but delays in setting a trial date led Kala's mother Linda Golden to ask for a plea deal.
Golden said she didn't want to keep reliving the crime for years while she awaited the trial. She said the plea deal would give her some closure and satisfaction in knowing McClain would spend the rest of her life in prison.
Keith Schuchardt said the plea deal didn't punish McClain enough.
"I just think that's not what she should have gotten," said Schuchardt. "I think she deserved the death penalty."
Keegan is now nineteen months old. He and his older brother Keeton are a welcome handful for Keith Schuchardt. But Schuchardt said a piece of all of their hearts will forever be broken.
"It's going to be the same for the rest of our lives, same grief, same feelings, same missing Kala, same everything," said Schuchardt.