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Hot Springs woman pleads guilty in '10 slaying

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guilty, Hot springs, murder

Updated: 5/09/2012 8:44 am

Published: 5/09/2012 8:43 am

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. (AP) — A Hot Springs woman has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree murder.

Sara Whitfield had been set for trial May 16 in the 2010 death of Kenneth Berthia. The Sentinel-Record reports that Whitfield entered the plea Tuesday in Garland County Circuit Court.

She was one of two people charged in Berthia's death. The 53-year-old was found in the back of a pickup truck, brutally beaten and with his throat slashed. In March, Whitfield's boyfriend pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to 23 years in prison.

Prosecutors say Whitfield was an accomplice in Berthia's death. Whitfield testified that she and her boyfriend intended to rob Berthia, but he ended up getting killed.

Whitfield will be eligible for parole after serving 14 years.

Associated Press

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backinaction - 5/10/2012 1:26 PM

0 Votes

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Brittany87, I am sorry that you and your family were basically lied to by the prosecution. They claim that plea deals save tax dollars by avoiding a trial. The truth is it actually costs more tax dollars because when they are released after just a few years, they usually have become a career criminal and we will soon again have to foot the bill for another crime. If they would only treat crime like a crime and make punishment for crimes real punishment.

Brittany87 - 5/9/2012 7:40 PM

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This was my father and I was very saddened by the verdict and the whole agreement of the plea bargin for both Sara Whitfield and Rocky Noles. Your absolutely correct once againg the system has failed to serve justice. Till this day my family and I are still mourning the death of my father. We were told by the prosection that ultimately it was their decision to go to trial....even though they had enough evidence and confessions they didnt. But of course with them its all about the prosecution and a plea bargin is a conviction for them and that is all their worried about.

protector20 - 5/9/2012 3:09 PM

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You want to see a failed system? Wait until our state supreme court finds a reason to overturn the verdict.

backinaction - 5/9/2012 9:26 AM

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20 years in prison for killing someone is nothing less than a joke. The justice system has yet again failed.

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