Background: News footage of Christopher Milke (in orange) in court on March 19 for his sentencing (KOLN). Inset: Tammy Leslie (Griffiths-Hovendick Chapel).
A Nebraska man who murdered his longtime partner and the mother of his children will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Christopher Milke, 53, was convicted of first-degree murder and other charges in connection with the fatal shooting of 52-year-old Tammy Leslie, his longtime partner and the mother of his two children. During the September 2024 incident, Milke also held the couple's two children, then aged 11 and 19, hostage in their home. After a jury found him guilty in February, a judge handed Milke two life sentences plus decades of additional time for the other charges — and Milke was not especially happy about it.
According to courtroom reporting by local CBS affiliate KOLN, Milke had several outbursts as Gage County District Judge Rick Schreiner delivered his sentence. KOLN reported that Milke claimed evidence was missing during his trial, adding on Thursday, "There wasn't anything fair about this trial, not one godd— thing."
Milke told the court when Schreiner let him speak, "What happened in that room that night, I wish my kids believed in me like I believe in them. It wasn't murder, and that's all I'm gonna say."
That was not all Milke was going to say, as KOLN reported that the convicted murderer repeatedly interrupted Schreiner while he read the sentence. He warned Milke, "Mr. Milke, I'm not going to listen to your outbursts. You have the right to appear at sentencing, or I can remove you from this room, have you strapped to a chair at the sheriff's office and read my sentence from there."
Schreiner told the court that Milke showed no remorse and threw his own words back at him. "'I finally killed somebody.' Those are your words as you went to get another beer out of the refrigerator. This isn't a whodunnit, Mr. Milke. It's a you-dunnit."
According to court documents obtained by KOLN, Milke shot Leslie several times in the head and chest in the early morning hours of Sept. 8, 2024. Police responded to the scene after a 911 call from the couple's then-19-year-old daughter, who got back to the family's home around 1:30 a.m. When she saw her father, he told her he killed her mother.
The couple's 11-year-old son was home at the time in his bedroom and told police he heard four gunshots around 1 a.m. After the boy heard the shots, Milke ordered him to hand over his phone and go to the living room. When the older daughter came home, Milke asked for her phone as well.
The daughter took her phone back a few hours later, after Milke fell asleep. She told police that her father had sealed every exit to the home, preventing the two children from leaving the house. Milke reportedly suspected Leslie of infidelity and was attempting to keep her from leaving. He had been screwing the exits to the home shut every night for about a month before the murder.
Police said they believed Milke was abusing alcohol during this time.
After getting the call from the daughter, authorities agreed that they would attempt to breach the home after 6 a.m. At 6:20 a.m., authorities made their way inside and got the two children out safely. Milke had a 9 mm pistol on him when he was taken into custody.
Leslie was found in the couple's bedroom, dead of several gunshot wounds.
Milke was found guilty of first-degree murder, kidnapping, false imprisonment, commission of a felony with a firearm, and tampering with physical evidence. He received two life sentences plus additional decades in prison.
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