ST. CHARLES • A judge here Friday sentenced a former Dent County sheriff’s deputy and state correctional officer to death for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Annette Durham, in 2011.

Judge Kelly Wayne Parker also sentenced Marvin Rice to life in prison for the murder of Durham’s boyfriend, Steven Strotkamp, 39.

A jury in August found Marvin Rice guilty of first-degree murder for Durham’s death and second-degree murder for Strotkamp’s. But jurors deadlocked on whether Rice should die for Durham’s death, meaning the decision was left to Parker.

The trial was moved to St. Charles County from Dent County because of the publicity attached to the case, and because of Rice’s former job there.

The fatal shootings sprang from a custody dispute between Rice and Durham over their son, who was conceived during an affair Rice had while he was a Dent County sheriff’s deputy, and born while Durham was serving a prison sentence.

Durham, who struggled with drug addiction, was trying to turn her life around, and was seeking more time with their son. No custody agreement was in place, and Rice initially allowed her only brief supervised visits.