A 47-year-old father in Ohio has been sentenced to over two decades in prison for the death of his 40-year-old wife, whom he shot seven times in front of their newborn and toddler while en route to a JCPenney for family photos.

On Thursday, Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Jennifer Branch handed down a sentence of 25 to 30 1/2 years in a state correctional facility to Mohammed Mondal for the 2023 killing of Stacy Mondal, as per records accessed by Law&Crime.

Mondal claimed his wife was involved in an extramarital affair and stated the shooting was in self-defense. However, he reached an agreement with prosecutors, pleading guilty to one count of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of child endangerment in connection with his wife’s death. In turn, the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office lessened the initial charges of aggravated murder and felonious assault that Mondal was facing.

Before the court issued the sentence, Mondal’s defense attorney characterized the death as an “unfortunate incident” and noted that his client is “taking accountability for the pain that he’s caused,” according to a Cincinnati Enquirer report.

A victim impact statement written by his children and his wife’s family expressed that Mondal “took the life of the woman who loved us and you so, so deeply.”

“You didn’t just kill her, you broke our family into pieces,” the statement reportedly said.

As previously detailed by Law&Crime, the fatal shooting transpired inside the couple’s car with their children, aged 2 months and 14 months, in the backseat. The family was heading to JCPenney for photos on Monday, Nov. 6, 2023, when an argument broke out, shortly before Mohammed Mondal called 911 to report the shooting.

“[An officer] said he answered the phone, and by the tone of Mondal’s voice, he seemed to be panicked and upset,” a probable cause affidavit said. “[Mohammed] Mondal first stated that he had accidentally shot his wife. [Mohammed] Mondal then stated that he had shot his wife (Stacy Mondal) and that he did it in self-defense.”

The sergeant responded to Mohammed Mondal’s statements by saying, “Are you serious?” and then asked where he was.

Deputies responded to Mohammed Mondal’s location, catching up with his vehicle near the border between Ohio and Indiana and following it to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital. When the family arrived at the hospital, deputies met them in the parking lot and saw his wife “slumped to the left side towards the center console” with blood covering her clothing.

“She had little to no signs of life,” the affidavit stated. “There was a small black handgun on the passenger side floorboard near Stacy [Mohammed’s] feet.”

Outside of the hospital, Mohammed Mondale spoke to detectives and inquired about the condition of his wife. He said it was “self-defense and that Stacy [Mondal] was going for his gun.” She was pronounced dead at 12:11 p.m. that day.

Mohammed Mondal claimed he and his wife had been having “marital problems” in recent years, per the affidavit.

“He stated that he believed she had an affair with a neighbor,” the affidavit stated. “After leaving to go to the photo appointment, he said that he and Stacy began arguing, and she struck him with her cellphone. Mondal then stated that she dropped the cellphone and reached for a gun that was lying in the open center console. Mondal then stated that he reached for a gun on his person and shot Stacy.”

He later claimed his wife “pointed the gun at him before he shot her.”

“In the course of the investigation, Detectives learned that Mondal believed that at least two men in his neighborhood previously had an affair with Stacy and that at least one of them had been following him,” the affidavit states. “Mondal also believed that his father-in-law was following him on the day of the shooting.”

Investigators said they were unable to verify his claims of his wife’s infidelity. There was also no evidence his wife fired a single shot during the argument.

In a final interview with detectives, Mohammed Mondal again claimed his wife was reaching for a gun when he fired the seven shots, saying he needed to “neutralize the threat.” He said, “I’m not the bad guy,” the affidavit said.