A 19-year-old St. Paul man was sentenced Friday to nearly 48 years in prison for shooting and killing the mother of his child earlier this year.

Appearing before Judge Salvador Rosas in Ramsey County District Court, Timothy Scott Hendricks, apologized to the family of his girlfriend, Michelle Ploetz, 20, after Ploetz's mother, her voice cracking, spoke in court of her loss.

"I'm deeply sorry," Hendricks said. "Please forgive me."

Hendricks shot Ploetz in the head April 16 as the pair, their 8-month-old son and Ploetz's father, headed home from dinner at the Little Oven on St. Paul's East Side. The outing had been arranged so that Hendricks could see his son, according to the criminal complaint.

As Ploetz's father drove them home, he told police he heard a "pop," stopped the car, and then heard another "pop" as something went by his head and broke the windshield. He got out of the car and saw Hendricks had a gun. He tried to get control of it, but Hendricks shot at him before fleeing. Ploetz was taken to the hospital, where she later died.

At a court hearing in August, Hendricks pleaded guilty to the murder and confirmed some details of that night, though he said that he was under the influence of Xanax and Ecstasy and couldn't recall anything from that day.

Colleen Kelly, Star Tribune
Michelle Marie Ploetz, 20, is pictured after graduation from Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul.

On Friday, Hendricks was sentenced to nearly 48 years in prison for second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder. As part of his plea agreement, assault charges in another case that was pending were dismissed.

"The unimaginable has happened and my daughter is dead," said Dianne Ploetz, Michelle's mother, in a statement to the court.

Ploetz said her daughter would have celebrated her 21st birthday next week. She described Hendricks as a "goofy young kid" when he started dating her daughter, and a much different person from the man who killed her. The couple's son is now 13 months old.

"Tim has robbed us of so much," Dianne Ploetz said.

In a statement afterward, Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said, "The loss for the victim's family, her parents and young son is immeasurable. While we are satisfied with the outcome, no amount of time can replace what has been taken by homicidal violence."

Nicole Norfleet • 612-710-5367