Windi Thomas, who weighed about 300 pounds, admitted she laid her body in part over the head of her boyfriend, Keeno Butler, who weighed 120 pounds.
A 300-pound Pennsylvania woman who smothered her boyfriend to death has pleaded guilty to his killing, authorities said.
Windi Thomas, 44, pleaded guilty on Monday in the March death of her boyfriend, 44-year-old Keeno Butler, GoErie.com reported.
Investigators said Thomas told them she had been drinking and wanted to buy crack cocaine when she got into an argument with Butler at their Erie apartment on March 18.
She cut Butler in the hand with a folding knife and struck him in the head with a table leg before laying her body in part over Butler’s head, police said.
At the time, Thomas weighed approximately 300 pounds, while Butler only weighed 120 pounds, detectives wrote in an affidavit obtained by GoErie.com.
Butler’s death was ruled a homicide “caused by respiratory insufficiency secondary to blunt force trauma to the neck and thoracic compression, exacerbated by blunt force trauma to the head,” the affidavit reportedly said.
Thomas called 911 to report she killed someone. Butler’s body was found on the living room floor of their home.
She pleaded guilty to third-degree murder charges in an Erie County court on Monday. She agreed to a recommended sentence of 18 to 36 years in state prison as part of her plea agreement.
In exchange for her pleading guilty, Assistant Erie County District Attorney Jeremy Lightner dropped additional charges of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and possession of the instrument of a crime.
Her recommended sentence was two to four years less than the maximum sentence of 20 to 40 years for third-degree murder, which is an unpremeditated killing with malice. Thomas will be sentenced on Dec. 21.
“It’s a good result based upon the facts of the case,” Thomas’ court-appointed lawyer, Mark Del Duca, told the news website. “I think it’s fair for both sides.”
But Butler’s family was reportedly unhappy that their loved one’s killer would not see a more harsh punishment.
“I feel like she should have 40 [years] or more,” Sandra Butler, the victim’s sister, told GoErie.com. “She deserved life.”
Butler was remembered for his adoring and charismatic nature, according to his obituary.
“Keeno will be remembered as a person who was full of love, energy and had a smile that would light up a room,” the remembrance said. “He enjoyed pets, music, dancing and working.”
Butler is survived by his daughter, two grandchildren, nine siblings, his mother, and “a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.”
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