Afterward, a weary Marti Kohnke, Kristine’s mother, said: “There’s nothing he could say to alleviate our pain.” 
 
 Richard Kirk, who continued to blame a marijuana edible for his behavior the night of the April 14, 2014 murder, was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Kirk initially pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder but right before he was about to go on trial in 2015, he changed his plea to not guilty by reason of insanity, claiming that he was intoxicated with THC, marijuana's psychoactive ingredient. As part of the plea agreement, Kirk also relinquished custody of his three sons to his wife’s parents, Marti and Wayne Kohnke. District Attorney Beth McCann has said that plea deal was reached because the family wanted to avoid a trial given the emotional toll they have already suffered. Shooting victim Kristine Kirk's family, sister Tammy Heman, from right, parents Marti and Wayne Kohnke, and an unnamed family member, talk with members of the media a following the sentencing of Kirk's... (Associated Press) 
 
 Shooting victim Kristine Kirk's family, sister Tammy Heman, from right, parents Marti and Wayne Kohnke, and an unnamed family member, talk with members of the media a following the sentencing of Kirk's husband Richard Kirk in the 2014 fatal shooting of Kristine Kirk at their home, at court in Denver,... (Associated Press) 
 
 DENVER (AP) — A Denver man who claimed that eating marijuana-infused candy led him to kill his wife was sentenced Friday to 30 years in prison in a case that helped raise concerns about the potency of pot edibles. Marti Kohnke described the anguish over losing her daughter and the challenges that come when a couple is forced to forego retirement to raise grandchildren. She said she sometimes locks herself in a bathroom and screams into a towel. ... My daughter's murder was the culmination of a lifetime of his bad choices." They also argued he suffered "involuntary intoxication" because he did not know he was at high risk for marijuana psychosis due to schizophrenia in his extended family. The phone call lasted 13 minutes as Kristine Kirk told an operator her husband was hallucinating, ranting about the end of the world and asking her to kill him. A toxicology report from one of Kirk’s blood tests the night of the shooting showed he had just 2.3 nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood. The lawsuit claimed that the company that made the orange ginger candy and the store that sold it failed to warn Kirk of its potency and possible side effects of hallucinations and other psychotic behaviors. But Morgan, the prosecutor, said Kirk committed a coldblooded murder, pointing out that he had the wherewithal to remember the code to a safe where he kept a loaded gun.
– Richard Kirk will not be going on trial for the murder of his wife—and neither will the "Karma Kandy Orange Ginger" marijuana edible he blames the killing on. The 50-year-old Denver man was sentenced to 30 years in prison Friday after he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the April 2014 shooting death of his wife, Kristine, the AP reports. During a 13-minute call with a 911 dispatcher, Kristine Kirk said her husband was hallucinating and getting a gun after consuming marijuana-infused candy. Her family is suing the maker and seller of the pot edible. Kirk claimed the marijuana candy caused delirium and psychotic-like symptoms, though prosecutors noted that he was sober enough to remember the code to his gun safe. One of Kirk's public defenders told the judge Friday that they had been ready to prove that marijuana led to the shooting, but Kirk agreed to a plea deal to save his three sons from having to testify, the Denver Post. Kirk admitted it had been his choice to buy and consume the marijuana, but said he didn't know it would affect him the way it did. "I know with certainty if I did not ingest that marijuana edible, Kris would still be here today," he said. Kirk's sons, who are now 15, 14, and 10, were present during the shooting. As part of the plea deal, Kirk relinquished custody of the boys to his wife's parents. He is banned from contacting them until the end of a five-year probation period that will follow his sentence.