Kansas City, Mo ? A Kansas City lawyer was sentenced Thursday to life without parole in the beating death of his law partner.

Jackson County jurors in July convicted Richard Buchli, 51, of first-degree murder in the May 2000 killing of Richard Armitage, 49. Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty.

Senior Judge David W. Shinn also sentenced Buchli, of Kansas City, to a concurrent life sentence for an armed criminal action conviction.

After Buchli was sentenced, Armitage’s widow, Kathleen, told KCTV, “This is the last step for my family and I, so we can move on.”

Buchli has maintained his innocence.

The case hinged heavily on blood splatters found on Buchli’s clothing and shoes. Buchli had testified that the blood got on his clothes when he clapped his hands while giving first aid to his partner after he and a woman in their office found him severely injured.

Armitage died from the injuries two days later.

Kathleen Armitage had said she didn’t believe the defense’s account because her husband had talked to her about dissolving the partnership with Buchli.