NATCHEZ, Miss. (AP) - A Jayess man has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the fatal shooting of his live-in girlfriend.
The Natchez Democrat reports (https://bit.ly/2h8YklU) prosecutors say that in 2010, 61-year-old Robert Wayne Silvia shot his 52-year-old girlfriend Darlene Berthelot and put her body in a freezer.
Silvia was found guilty of murder in 2012 by a Walthall County jury and was sentenced to life in prison. However, he was given a new trial on the grounds that the trial judge failed to conduct a hearing into his arguments of mental disability.
On Wednesday, Silvia entered a guilty plea and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Defense attorney Bill Goodwin says the killing meets the definition of manslaughter because no malice or forethought existed for Silvia.
Assistant District Attorney Timothy Jones says prosecutors deliberated with Berthelot’s family and are satisfied with the outcome.
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