BECKLEY, W.V. (LOOTPRESS) – A Raleigh County woman charged with the 2014 murder of a 76-year-old accepted a plea deal in front of Judge H.L. Kirkpatrick Tuesday morning.
Jessica Dey Lunceford, 47, was charged with the murder of Slyvia Jean Washington in 2019, nearly five years after Washington’s death. Lunceford was acting as Washington’s caretaker at the time of her death.
On Tuesday, Lunceford, who appeared virtually from Southern Regional Jail, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter- a lesser offense than that of the charge of first-degree murder. By pleading guilty, Lunceford waived her rights to a trial in front of a jury of 12 Raleigh County citizens.
According to Raleigh County Prosecuting Attorney Benjamin Hatfield, who represented the state of West Virginia in the case, voluntary manslaughter carries a maximum penalty of a determinant sentence of three to 15 years.
As part of her plea, Lunceford must serve 15 years. She will be credited for time already served, which includes 811 days of home incarceration and 146 days of incarceration at Southern Regional Jail.
The court accepted Lunceford’s plea and she was taken into the custody of the West Virginia Division of Corrections (DOC) following the hearing.
