A Houma woman will spend 23 years in prison for stabbing another woman to death in a dispute stemming from relationships going sour. The altercation took place in July 2017 resulting in Miranda Gilley being charged with second-degree murder. Terrebonne Parish Assistant District Attorney Chris Erny says after the two wrestled around, a tactical knife got involved in the deadly dispute.
“It went between the rib and into the heart and then she stabbed her four more times in various places on her body and also cut her a couple of times,” said Erny.
Prosecutors say Gilley had invited the victim, 24-year-old Jessica McGehee, over to her apartment to fight. Gilley claimed she acted in self-defense. Erny says the jury had several options on the charges, but ultimately decided to go with a lesser charge of manslaughter, which carries a maximum 40-year sentence.
“The reason they basically did that was because it happened in the heat of the moment or basically being provoked. It’s still a homicide,” said Erny.
Erny says he was not surprised by the lack of the maximum sentencing, as they were aiming for 30 years. The judge’s decision not to give Gilley the maximum sentence came as the result of the defendant’s youth and not having a criminal history.
“It was a pretty callous act. It wasn’t self-defense. She brought a knife to a fistfight, or a wrestling match, basically, and decided she could have taken actions to avoid it and she didn’t,” said Erny.
Gilley will be eligible for parole after 15 years.
