Fort Worth man sentenced to life in prison for strangling death of estranged wife

FORT WORTH, Texas - A Fort Worth man will serve life in prison without the possibility of parole for strangling his estranged wife to death while the couple's children slept in a nearby room in 2017.
Shalen Gardner, 37, pleaded guilty to the 2017 murder of his estranged wife Elanceia "Lana" Gardner.

Shalen Gardner
Gardner sexually assaulted and strangled his wife at their Fairmount Avenue duplex. The pair's two children found their mother dead on the morning of November 2, 2017.
Gardner had a length criminal history, including threatening family members, hitting the family's dog with a hammer, unlawfully possessing a handgun and more.
In a letter read to Gardner in court on Monday morning from Lana's mother, Neia Roland-Hill, wrote of the couple's children, "You may have taken their mother away, but you can never steal their joy, their spirit, their future or happiness or their hope."
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Two months before the murder of his wife Gardner served time in a substance abuse facility.
"Sentences like this are a reflection of how serious the Tarrant County community and the CDA’s office pursue IPV predators," said Tarrant County assistant criminal district attorney Allenna Bangs.