A 2020 case against a Crest Hill woman concluded on Monday with a plea bargain that involved prosecutors dropping a charge that accused her of attempted murder of her husband.

Denise O’Malley, 60, agreed to plead guilty to aggravated battery with firearm in the Sept. 13, 2020 shooting of her husband, John O’Malley, who told a judge he didn’t want to see his wife go to prison.

Denise O’Malley shot her husband in the thigh and upper chest while he was watching a Chicago Bears game in the Joliet residence, where she lived before the shooting, according to prosecutors.

John O’Malley was able to flee to a neighbor’s house to receive aid and he indicated his wife has mental health issues, prosecutors said.

As part of a plea deal, prosecutors agreed to drop charges of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated discharge of a firearm and aggravated domestic battery.

Will County Judge Jessica Colón-Sayre agreed to go along with O’Malley serving the recommended 85% of a six-year prison sentence.

The judge based her decision on the statements from O’Malley’s husband and the treatment she’s received for her mental health issues.

But O’Malley will be released soon because she has more than served that sentence. That’s because she was credited with spending 73 days in jail and then almost five years on home confinement while her case was pending in court.

O’Malley was placed on home confinement after her attorney, Jeff Tomczak, argued for a lower cash bond in the early stage of the case.

Prosecutors informed Colón-Sayre that O’Malley had no criminal history and she committed no violations after the case was filed. The judge was also told John O’Malley was in full agreement with the plea deal.

In court, John O’Malley told Colón-Sayre that his wife is the “love of his life.”

“I forgive her,” he said.

John O’Malley said his wife worked as a registered nurse, she has a “kind soul” and she was responsible for their children receiving a college education. He said he didn’t want to see his wife go to prison and she belongs instead with her family.

“I beg you, please, show mercy for my wife,” he said.

Denise O’Malley is a “very integral” part of her family and she was undergoing mental health issues at the time of the shooting, which she has since addressed, according to her attorney Anna Bertani, of the Tomczak Law Group.

Colón-Sayre told Denise O’Malley it was unfortunate that the “love of her life” had to bear the brunt of her mental health crisis at the time of the shooting.

“By the grace of God, he was kept here alive because we would be here under different circumstances,” Colón-Sayre said.