MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A Milwaukee man was sentenced to spend decades in prison for robbing and murdering a woman in 2017. 

Carl Knight will spend 31 years behind bars for felony murder and felony possession of a firearm. He was also given 12 years on extended supervision. 

Knight previously pled guilty to the murder of Karen Simek, who was robbed and shot in the face back in January 2017. Simek was heading into work at Garden Fresh near 12th and National early in the morning when she was attacked. 

The case went cold for a year until a former roommate tipped police off. Simek's husband says her murder was a great loss to the community. 

"Karen was infinitely valuable to me and to those who knew her. She was a wife, a daughter, a sister, coworker, a friend. Karen touched a lot of lives in the community she lived in over the course of five decades," said Kevin Sasse, Simek's husband. 

Two of Knight's roommates were also charged in Simek's death. One of the cases was dismissed. The other suspect was given a year of probation. 

The family did not ask for any restitution in the case.