The Cameron Missouri man accused in the stabbing death of his 11-year-old son near Lawrence in August 2002 now faces more than 12 years in prison.

Raymond Boothe pled no contest to intentional second-degree murder today in Leavenworth County District Court.

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Standard sentencing guidelines call for a sentence of 147 to 165 months in prison.

Boothe was originally charged with first-degree murder after stabbing his severely disabled son, Levi, and leaving him for dead along Interstate Highway 70.

Debra Owens, special projects director for the Leavenworth County Attorney’s office, says with the defense mounting a case for insanity — prosecutors are satisfied with the plea to the lesser, second-degree murder charge.

“Sometimes it’s better to take a plea and get something then go to jury trial get nothing,” Owens said.

After stabbing his son, Boothe crashed his car with his three other children inside in a southwest Lawrence neighborhood in an apparent suicide attempt. No one was seriously injured.

Sentencing is set for Jan 30.

For more on this story, see the 6News reports at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Sunflower Broadband’s channel 6 and pick up a copy of Thursday’s Journal-World.