A Monkton woman has pleaded guilty to conspiring with her son to kill her husband more than three years ago, heading off a trial that was set to begin next week.

Angela Auclair, 51, pleaded guilty on Jan. 23 in Chittenden County Superior Court, criminal division, in Burlington to a charge of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the 2019 death of her husband, David Auclair, 45, in Hinesburg. At the time of the killing the couple lived in Monkton.

Other charges that had been brought against Auclair, including aiding in the commission of first-degree murder and obstruction of justice, were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

The plea deal calls for a proposed sentence of 18 years to life for Auclair, according to court records.

Judge Kevin Griffin ordered the state Department of Corrections to prepare a pre-sentence investigation ahead of the sentencing hearing set for April 29. Such reports aid judges in determining the appropriate sentence for a defendant.

Auclair had been set to stand trial in the case starting on Feb. 5. She has been held without bail since her arrest in December 2019.

Auclair’s son Kory Lee George, 35, who was also charged in the case, reached a plea deal with prosecutors in September. He pleaded guilty to conspiring with his mother to kill his stepfather at a trailhead in Hinesburg and, like his mother, now faces up to 18 years to life in prison.

George had agreed to cooperate as a prosecution witness during his mother’s trial, according to court filings in his case.

According to documents filed along with his plea agreement, he and his mother had discussed killing David Auclair weeks earlier and then lured him to the trailhead where the shooting took place on July 11, 2019.

David Auclair was shot 11 times, the court filing stated.

Attorneys in the case could not be reached for comment by VTDigger.