UPDATE: Cole County man sentenced to probation for involuntary manslaughter

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A Jefferson City man has been sentenced to five years of probation after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter for the death of his live-in girlfriend near Taos in 2022.

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Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Edward Beetem sentences 25-year-old Joshua Wilbers to four years in prison, but suspends the execution of sentence and places Wilbers on five years of probation. Judge Beetem found Wilbers guilty of involuntary manslaughter for the 2022 death of 20-year-old Mizzou student Hallie Phillips, after a July bench trial at the Cole County Courthouse. First degree involuntary manslaughter is a class C felony.

Wilbers faced up to a decade in prison.

A bench trial is a trial by judge rather than a trial by jury. Judge Beetem presided during the emotional trial. Phillips’ family cried in the courtroom in July, when the verdict was read in open court.

As a convicted felon, Wilbers will no longer be allowed to own a gun, under the law.