Photo: West Virginia Regional JailThe 14-inch decorative dagger that pierced Thomas Via’s back went in seven inches deep.His wife said it was an accident.“My husband and I liked to fight and have sex and then make up, if that’s the right way to say that,” 49-year-old Jennifer Lynn Via said in a Huntington, West Virginia, courtroom on Monday according to theHuntington Herald-Dispatch. “He wasn’t supposed to get hurt, but it did happen.”Her defense attorney, Kerry Nessel, said the situation likely involved alcohol.“They were rather truculent towards each other, but they loved each other dearly,” Nessel tells PEOPLE. “Things just got out of hand.”In court, he said, “As strange as this is, they watched these kung fu movies and it led to, what I would tell a jury, foreplay, which was both of them getting pretty violent with each other while playing with weapons. That’s what led to this.”Jennifer’s confession and guilty plea Monday to voluntary manslaughter in the death of Thomas led Cabell County Circuit Judge Gregory Howard to sentence her to the maximum 15 years in prison.• Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Clickhereto get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.Nessel said he plans to ask the judge to reduce Jennifer’s sentence to 10 years at a scheduled hearing Aug. 16 after an investigation into her background is completed.She initially was charged with first-degree murder in the Nov. 4, 2017, incident at the couple’s Huntington home.In securing a plea agreement to the lesser charge, Jennifer told the judge that it was she who plunged the knife into her husband’s back, reports theHerald-Dispatch. Thomas bled to death internally after the knife struck his heart.According to the outlet, Jennifer called 911 that night and said he’d accidentally been stabbed during horseplay. Detective Chris Sperry said Jennifer claimed the couple was mimicking a ninja movie when she stabbed him as he rose from a bent-over position while dumping water into a toilet.But police also said Jennifer gave slightly different accounts to others, including that Thomas had slipped on water and fell into a knife or screwdriver.Days later she tried to collect an $80,000 life insurance policy that had been increased shortly before the incident, according to theHerald-Dispatch.A call to Cabell County prosecutor Sean “Corky” Hammers was not immediately returned.PEOPLE confirmed that Jennifer currently is being held at the Western Regional Jail in the county.Nessel says she expressed remorse in court for her actions.
Photo: West Virginia Regional Jail
The 14-inch decorative dagger that pierced Thomas Via’s back went in seven inches deep.His wife said it was an accident.“My husband and I liked to fight and have sex and then make up, if that’s the right way to say that,” 49-year-old Jennifer Lynn Via said in a Huntington, West Virginia, courtroom on Monday according to theHuntington Herald-Dispatch. “He wasn’t supposed to get hurt, but it did happen.”Her defense attorney, Kerry Nessel, said the situation likely involved alcohol.“They were rather truculent towards each other, but they loved each other dearly,” Nessel tells PEOPLE. “Things just got out of hand.”In court, he said, “As strange as this is, they watched these kung fu movies and it led to, what I would tell a jury, foreplay, which was both of them getting pretty violent with each other while playing with weapons. That’s what led to this.”Jennifer’s confession and guilty plea Monday to voluntary manslaughter in the death of Thomas led Cabell County Circuit Judge Gregory Howard to sentence her to the maximum 15 years in prison.• Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Clickhereto get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.Nessel said he plans to ask the judge to reduce Jennifer’s sentence to 10 years at a scheduled hearing Aug. 16 after an investigation into her background is completed.She initially was charged with first-degree murder in the Nov. 4, 2017, incident at the couple’s Huntington home.In securing a plea agreement to the lesser charge, Jennifer told the judge that it was she who plunged the knife into her husband’s back, reports theHerald-Dispatch. Thomas bled to death internally after the knife struck his heart.According to the outlet, Jennifer called 911 that night and said he’d accidentally been stabbed during horseplay. Detective Chris Sperry said Jennifer claimed the couple was mimicking a ninja movie when she stabbed him as he rose from a bent-over position while dumping water into a toilet.But police also said Jennifer gave slightly different accounts to others, including that Thomas had slipped on water and fell into a knife or screwdriver.Days later she tried to collect an $80,000 life insurance policy that had been increased shortly before the incident, according to theHerald-Dispatch.A call to Cabell County prosecutor Sean “Corky” Hammers was not immediately returned.PEOPLE confirmed that Jennifer currently is being held at the Western Regional Jail in the county.Nessel says she expressed remorse in court for her actions.
The 14-inch decorative dagger that pierced Thomas Via’s back went in seven inches deep.
His wife said it was an accident.
“My husband and I liked to fight and have sex and then make up, if that’s the right way to say that,” 49-year-old Jennifer Lynn Via said in a Huntington, West Virginia, courtroom on Monday according to theHuntington Herald-Dispatch. “He wasn’t supposed to get hurt, but it did happen.”
Her defense attorney, Kerry Nessel, said the situation likely involved alcohol.
“They were rather truculent towards each other, but they loved each other dearly,” Nessel tells PEOPLE. “Things just got out of hand.”
In court, he said, “As strange as this is, they watched these kung fu movies and it led to, what I would tell a jury, foreplay, which was both of them getting pretty violent with each other while playing with weapons. That’s what led to this.”
Jennifer’s confession and guilty plea Monday to voluntary manslaughter in the death of Thomas led Cabell County Circuit Judge Gregory Howard to sentence her to the maximum 15 years in prison.
• Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Clickhereto get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.
Nessel said he plans to ask the judge to reduce Jennifer’s sentence to 10 years at a scheduled hearing Aug. 16 after an investigation into her background is completed.
She initially was charged with first-degree murder in the Nov. 4, 2017, incident at the couple’s Huntington home.
In securing a plea agreement to the lesser charge, Jennifer told the judge that it was she who plunged the knife into her husband’s back, reports theHerald-Dispatch. Thomas bled to death internally after the knife struck his heart.
According to the outlet, Jennifer called 911 that night and said he’d accidentally been stabbed during horseplay. Detective Chris Sperry said Jennifer claimed the couple was mimicking a ninja movie when she stabbed him as he rose from a bent-over position while dumping water into a toilet.
But police also said Jennifer gave slightly different accounts to others, including that Thomas had slipped on water and fell into a knife or screwdriver.
Days later she tried to collect an $80,000 life insurance policy that had been increased shortly before the incident, according to theHerald-Dispatch.
A call to Cabell County prosecutor Sean “Corky” Hammers was not immediately returned.
PEOPLE confirmed that Jennifer currently is being held at the Western Regional Jail in the county.
Nessel says she expressed remorse in court for her actions.
source: people.com
