CATAWBA COUNTY, N.C. — James Thacker has been in jail for three and a half years accused in the shooting death of his girlfriend, Tammy Cloninger.
[PAST COVERAGE: Man shot woman behind Hickory home, police say]
Prosecutors said he shot her after an argument in February 2016 at a home on 11th Street Northwest in Hickory.
“I just hate she’s gone,” Tammy Cloninger’s brother, Tony Cloninger, said Tuesday. “I just want the closure. That’s all I want, closure, because I can’t take it anymore.”
Thacker, 35, of Hickory, was convicted of second-degree murder Tuesday and will spend at least 21 years in prison.
In the video at the top of this webpage, Cloninger’s family's reaction after the plea deal.
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