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Dennis Sheppard, left, was sentenced for the murder of his girlfriend, Jyra Holmes, right. (Holmes photo from her obituary; Sheppard’s mug shot from law enforcement)
A man in Louisiana has been sentenced to life in prison for using a plastic zip to strangle his girlfriend during a domestic dispute in front of witnesses in the parking lot of her apartment complex.
Dennis Sheppard, 60, was sentenced on Monday for the murder of his girlfriend, Jyra Holmes, 39.
During the sentencing hearing, the victim’s twin sister tore into the Sheppard, saying, “I hope the only mercy you get for the rest of your life is the mercy you showed my sister,” prosecutors said in a news release.
Judge June Berry Darensburg ripped Sheppard and dismissed his defense’s requests for a new trial and post-verdict judgment of acquittal.
“She had a full life ahead of her; she was very young,” Darensburg said. “To take someone’s life, I would have to agree with the impact testimony: It was an evil act.”
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Prosecutors said Sheppard strangled Holmes outside her apartment in the 1500 block of West Chelsea Road in Harvey on Nov. 2, 2020.
Authorities said witnesses saw him do it and heard him say afterward, “She wanted me dead; now she’s dead.”
Deputies arrived to find her unresponsive on the ground and declared her dead at the scene.
Sheppard fled and was arrested three days later at a Motel 6 in Mississippi by a U.S. Marshals Service fugitive task force.
A Jefferson Parish jury convicted him of second-degree murder on Sept. 28 after deliberating 36 minutes, ending his three-day trial. His mandatory punishment was life in prison with no probation, parole or suspension of sentence in Louisiana, prosecutors said.
Sheppard denied committing second-degree murder, his defense attorney said, asserting he was guilty of manslaughter, a lesser homicide committed in the heat of passion that carries a maximum of 40 years in prison.
