JONESBORO -- A Lawrence County woman will serve at least 70 percent of a 37-year prison sentence after she pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the January stabbing death of a 78-year-old man, Craighead County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Tracye Walker said.
Elizabeth Agnes McKnatt, 26, of Sedgwick entered the plea in Craighead County Circuit Court on Thursday.
Judge Victor Hill sentenced her to the 37 years and suspended 318 days she spent in the Craighead County jail awaiting trial. He also suspended an additional three-year sentence for McKnatt.
McKnatt was convicted of killing Silva Joe Fry on Jan. 20 in his Egypt home in western Craighead County.
David Nathaniel Ferguson, 23, of Sedgwick is also charged with first-degree murder in the slaying. Ferguson will be in Craighead County Circuit Court on Monday for a pretrial hearing.
According to an arrest affidavit, McKnatt and Ferguson went to Fry's home to wash their laundry. Ferguson told officers that he stepped outside of the home and when he returned, he found Fry had been stabbed. He and McKnatt drove away to find help, Ferguson said, when Bono police officers arrested the pair on Arkansas 230.
Walker said Friday that Fry told two people before he died that McKnatt stabbed him.
Because McKnatt pleaded guilty to a Class Y felony, she is required to serve 70 percent of the sentence before she is considered for parole.
"We talked with the victim's family about the plea," Walker said. "They wished she'd spend the rest of her life in prison but understand why we did this. [McKnatt] cannot appeal her plea. They've gotten some final closure on this."
State Desk on 12/09/2014