The wife of a Missouri Ku Klux Klan leader has admitted shooting her husband dead.

Key points: Malissa Ancona initially reported her husband missing. His body was found by a river days later

Malissa Ancona initially reported her husband missing. His body was found by a river days later She later claimed her son, Paul Jinkerson Jr, shot him while he was sleeping

She later claimed her son, Paul Jinkerson Jr, shot him while he was sleeping Jinkerson is accused of helping clean up the crime scene and dump the body

Malissa Ancona was sentenced to life in prison under a deal in which she pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, tampering with evidence and abandonment of a corpse in the February 2017 death of Frank Ancona Jr, the St Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Mr Ancona, who had identified himself as a KKK imperial wizard, had recently asked his wife for a divorce, according to officials and court records.

Malissa Ancona initially reported her husband missing, and a family who were fishing in south-east Missouri found his body near a river days later.

She later claimed her son, Paul Jinkerson Jr, shot him while he was sleeping.

Mr Jinkerson faces the same charges as his mother, but she now says he had no role in the shooting.

Ancona said she shot her husband dead in their bedroom. ( Supplied: St Francois County Sheriff's Department )

She said he did help clean up the crime scene and helped dump the body.

"I fired both shots that killed my husband," she told Circuit Judge Wendy Wexler Horn.

She said she cleaned the walls of their bedroom and disposed of bloody bedding to try to hide the crime.

Ms Ancona originally told police that her son shot her husband with a 9mm handgun, and agreed to testify against him last year.

She reversed herself in a letter from jail, writing to Judge Horn that she was "under the influence" and couldn't recall what happened when her husband was shot.

During the court hearing, Frank Ancona's father, Frank Ancona senior, told the judge that he was forced to identify his only son's body, and said his son had "no face left."

He also said his son was killed because he was planning on leaving Malissa Ancona, whom he called a "terrible wife."

Mr Ancona's daughter, Carolyn Ancona, through tears, said, "He didn't deserve this. No-one deserves this."

Mr Ancona's body was found near a river days after he was reported missing. ( YouTube: Reel Truth Documentaries )

AP/ABC