A former metro Atlanta high school football coach was sentenced to 30 years in prison for killing a woman in Maryland, a state attorney said.

Carl Kearney Jr., Spalding County High School’s football coach from 2020-23, pleaded guilty in March in the death of 38-year-old Patrina Best in her Maryland home, according to Aisha Braveboy, the state’s attorney for Prince George’s County.

This week, he was sentenced to 40 years in prison but 10 years of that term were dropped. Kearney will be eligible for parole in 15 years, according to terms of the sentence.

Best was a traveling nurse and a friend of Kearney’s, according to her family. As a member of a U.S. Navy family, Best grew up in various places and swam for Camden County High School before winning all-conference honors swimming at Georg

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