Two years after the crime, Baldwin County man was convicted of murder Thursday in the shooting death of his mother-in-law, an Atmore woman who had worked in economic development for the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.

James Morgan Dorriety, 35, killed Kathy Lee Allison, 53, with a hunting rifle following what deputies at the time called a “domestic dispute.”

Allison’s daughter, April, had a protective order against Dorriety, but they had been trying to reconcile.

Dorriety was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the shooting. Under a plea agreement, the death penalty was removed as a possible punishment, but the case still had to go to trial because it was a capital case.

According to reports, testimony during the trial stated that Dorriety had threatened to kill Allison. Later on Aug. 3, 2008, he blocked her pickup truck with his car while both vehicles were on Baldwin County Highway 61. According to testimony, Dorriety shot Allison in the head with a rifle.

Before the shooting, according to testimony, Dorriety’s wife, April, and her daughter had been in the car with him. He forced them out at gunpoint and then went to find Allison.