A 33-year-old woman accepted eight years in prison Thursday instead of risking life behind bars for her role in a fatal 2011 robbery.
Jessica Sterchi said she was guilty of facilitation of second-degree murder and facilitation of especially aggravated robbery in the October 2011 shooting of Zachary Higdon. She accepted the state’s offer a month away from her Feb. 7 trial, in which jurors would have to decide whether Sterchi was guilty of first-degree murder, a class A felony that carries a 51-year sentence before consideration for parole.
“Are you ready to go forward with your plea?” Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Barry Steelman asked her.
Sterchi nodded, choking back tears.
“What is your plea to count one?” he asked.