<img src=" http://www.joplinglobeonline.com/images/zope/courts.gif" border=0> Himes enters guilty plea in alcohol-related death

March 23, 2009 03:48 pm

— Brandon K. Himes pleaded guilty today to a charge of second-degree involuntary manslaughter. Himes, of Monett, was facing first-degree manslaughter charges. He entered an “open” plea, which means sentencing is still to be determined, according to Johnnie Cox, Barry County Prosecutor. A sentencing hearing is set for May 22.
Himes was accused allegedly feeding fatal amounts of alcohol to an 18-year-old Verona woman in 2007 during a party. He allegedly poured about “half a fifth” of vodka and “half a fifth” of tequila, along with an unknown amount of beer, into a “beer bong,” or funnel, that fed into Jessica Murphy’s mouth via a hose. Murphy was found dead at the home early March 4, 2007, and had a blood-alcohol level that later was determined to be about 0.406 percent, according to authorities. The legal threshold for intoxication in Missouri is 0.08 percent.