A Houma woman convicted of killing another woman during an argument over a man in 2017 will serve 23 years in prison, a judge ruled Friday.
A 12-member jury found Miranda Gilley guilty of manslaughter on May 17 in the stabbing death of 24-year-old Jessica McGehee.
After denying the defendant’s post-trial motions Friday, District Judge George Larke Jr. handed down the 23-year sentence.
“I thought it was a fair judgment,” said Assistant District Attorney Chris Erny, who prosecuted the case. “I think the victim’s family was hoping for more, but they understood why the judge gave what he gave.”
Gilley was originally charged with second-degree murder, which carries a life sentence. With the lesser charge she could have faced up to 40 years in prison.
“It was on the higher side of the mid-range, but the mitigating factors were that she had no prior criminal record and her age,” Erny said. “I know the judge put a lot of time and effort into this. I can tell he struggled with it at times. He looked at the weapon and reviewed witness statements. He took the job extremely seriously as he always does and came up with a very fair sentence.”
Although Gilley won’t serve the maximum sentence her attorney Greg Sauzer said he had hoped for less time.
“I don’t think it was extremely excessive, but I do believe it’s still excessive,” Sauzer said. “I was hoping for seven to 15 years. She has no criminal history whatsoever and it’s not likely she would find herself in a situation like this again. She’s never been in trouble before.”
The conviction resulted from an incident that occurred around 10:46 p.m. July 11, 2017, at the Belmere Apartments in Houma.
When deputies responded to the scene they found McGehee with several puncture wounds on her body, prosecutors said.
The defendant allegedly invited McGehee to her apartment complex to fight, prosecutors said. During the confrontation, Gilley pulled a pocket knife from her pants and stabbed McGehee multiple times.
Deputies performed CPR on the victim until paramedics from the Bayou Cane Fire Department and Acadian Ambulance took McGehee to Terrebonne General Medical Center, where she was later pronounced dead, authorities said.
Erny said Gilley had specific intent to kill or inflict great bodily harm to the victim, but Sauzer contended her client was forced to kill McGehee in self-defense.
“This wasn’t a fight at a bar or in some public place,” Sauzer said Friday. “This is a fight that took place when someone came to her home.”
In the end there were no real winners, Sauzer said.
“It’s necessary to state that it’s never possible in a case involving a homicide to put a number on someone, whether it’s 10, 20 or 40 years,” Sauzer said. “No amount of time will bring back the lost loved one. It was a tough case.”
--Staff Writer Dan Copp can be reached at 448-7639 or at dan.copp@houmatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanVCopp.
