Former New Albany business owner who tried to have ex-boyfriend killed will avoid prison

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A former New Albany bakery owner won't be sent to prison for trying to have her ex-boyfriend killed three years ago.

Laura Buckingham pleaded guilty in December to solicitation to commit murder and was sentenced to 10 years probation. She will be required to undergo continuing mental health assessments.

A judge in Tennessee imposed the sentence on April 11 after Buckingham requested a waiver for a jury trial and agreed to plead guilty to a reduced charge. She could have been sent to prison for 10 years.

Buckingham is the former owner of Bread and Breakfast in New Albany. Police in Roane County, Tenn., arrested her in February 2016. She was initially charged with attempted murder.

Her new boyfriend at the time told police that she asked him to find someone to kill Brad Sutherland, the father of her 3-year-old son. Buckingham, who had moved to Tennessee, shared custody of the boy with Sutherland, and she had been driving to Louisville every Sunday to see her son.

In a 2016 interview, Sutherland said he was shocked when he heard Buckingham wanted him killed.

"We've always had a very civil relationship, and the fact that it came to this ... it blows my mind," he said. "I don't know why she did it. I don’t know."

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