MANKATO, Minn. — A woman accused of fatally shooting her husband while he slept has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Blue Earth County.

In a plea deal with prosecutors, 35-year-old Jennifer Nibbe (NIB’-ee) admitted shooting her husband, James Nibbe, in the head with a shotgun in August 2010 at their home near Lake Crystal.

Nibbe initially told investigators an intruder had shot her husband. Court documents filed by Nibbe’s attorney showed the defense was prepared to claim that Nibbe was a victim of “ongoing physical and sexual abuse.”

The Free Press (http://bit.ly/Pv9NYO ) says a sentencing hearing is scheduled July 9, the day her trial was expected to start. She could be sentenced to a maximum 25 years in prison.