A 21-year-old Walker woman's 35-year prison sentence in the gruesome 2015 killing of a man who two weeks earlier had pleaded "no contest" to molesting her as a child is not excessive, a state appeals court has ruled.
Even though Brittany Monk pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of Robert Noce Jr., the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal said the facts would have supported a conviction for second-degree murder.
"The sentence imposed was not grossly disproportionate to the severity of the offense, and thus, was not unconstitutionally excessive," the appeals court said Tuesday.
The court's ruling came a day after it affirmed the second-degree murder conviction and life prison term given to Monk's boyfriend, Jace Crehan, 24, of Walker.
Noce, 47, of Zachary, was a former boyfriend of Monk's mother.
Monk was 17 and seven months pregnant when she and Crehan broke into Noce's trailer on July 4, 2015. Crehan was convicted in the vigilante-style stabbing and strangulation of Noce. Monk pleaded guilty to taking part in the crime.
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