A 50-year-old man in Florida may spend the remainder of his days behind bars for shooting his girlfriend in the back multiple times then claiming he was acting in self-defense.

Ninth Judicial Circuit Judge Barbara J. Leach ordered Richard Raciak to serve a sentence of 25 years to life in a state correctional facility for the 2023 slaying of 46-year-old Allison Sheehan, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show. The sentence was handed down after Raciak in December formally pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder with a firearm for killing Sheehan, who was also the mother of his child.

Following Sheehan’s murder, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office issued a news release stating that Raciak admitted to shooting her but “claimed it was self defense when he shot Allison when her back was to him.”

According to a probable cause affidavit, deputies at about 12:39 a.m. on April 16, 2023, responded to a home in the 2800 block of Smithfield Drive. Upon arriving at the scene, first responders said they found an adult female — later identified as Sheehan — who was in the master bedroom of the residence and had apparently sustained multiple gunshot wounds. She was immediately transported to Osceola Regional Hospital for treatment, where she succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead.

Raciak was located on the scene and transported to Hunter’s Creek Emergency Room for treatment after he complained of being severely dehydrated.

Investigators made contact with Raciak’s father, who had been at the couple’s home earlier in the day to celebrate the birthday of Raciak and Sheehan’s son. He left the home at approximately 3:30 in the afternoon. However, at around 10:30 that evening, Raciak’s father said he began receiving text messages from his son regarding a violent encounter between Raciak and Sheehan.