Man sentenced for killing girlfriend’s ex-husband

MINDEN -- A 25-year-old man has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for the 2008 shooting death of his girlfriend's ex-husband in Minden.

Gardnerville's Record-Courier reported District Judge Michael Gibbons handed down the sentence Friday to James Matlean, who earlier pleaded guilty to first-degree murder.

Ben Oxley was shot as he slept next to his wife in February 2008 at their Minden home.

Matlean earlier testified that his girlfriend, Dawn Oxley, accompanied him to the home and asked him to kill 36-year-old Ben Oxley, with whom she had a bitter custody fight.

Dawn Oxley has denied any involvement in the murder and has not been charged in her ex-husband's death. She's now serving 90 months in prison for using her 15-year-old daughter in multiple drug transactions.