Sparta woman is convicted of first degree murder

Patsy Hensley

Sparta resident Patsy Hensley has been convicted of first-degree premeditated murder in the July 2018 shooting death of her husband.

According to Bryant Dunaway, district attorney general for the 13th Judicial District, Hensley was found guilty in a jury trial, on May 24, 2021, at White County Justice Center.

Dunaway said Mark Hensley, who was 54 at the time of his death, was shot two times with a 12-gauge shotgun while he slept in a recliner in the living room of the couple’s home, on Plum Creek Road, in White County.

Patsy Hensley, who was 56 at the time of the incident, initially reported to police investigators that “someone” had come into the home and killed her husband while she had left the home for a short time. However, she later admitted to shooting her husband.

Dunaway said Patsy Hensley will face the imposition of a life sentence at a sentencing hearing.

Assistant district attorneys Mark Gore and Beth Willis prosecuted the case at trial. Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and White County Sheriff’s Office were also involved in the investigation of the case.