By Derek Spellman
dspellman@joplinglobe.com
GALENA, Mo. — A Monett man pleaded guilty Monday to involuntary manslaughter for pouring fatal amounts of alcohol down the throat of an 18-year-old woman at a party.
Brandon K. Himes entered an open guilty plea to a reduced charge of second-degree involuntary manslaughter and a misdemeanor count of supplying liquor to a minor, according to Barry County Prosecutor Johnnie Cox.
Himes, 24, originally was charged with first-degree involuntary manslaughter as well as the misdemeanor count in connection with the death of Jessica Murphy, of Verona, in March 2007.
Witnesses previously testified at Himes’ preliminary hearing that he 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 Murphy’s mouth via a hose. A fifth is a bottle that contains one-fifth of a gallon, or about 25.6 ounces.
An open plea means Himes’ sentence is to be determined by Circuit Judge Robert Wiley. A sentencing hearing is set for next month.
“We’re going to recommend a prison sentence,” said Cox, who declined to say how many years of incarceration his office would seek.
Jan Murphy, Jessica Murphy’s mother, told the Globe in a telephone interview that her family would testify at the sentencing hearing.
“I’m OK with it if he (Himes) gets prison time,” Murphy said of the open plea arrangement.
Murphy said she would like to see Himes receive three or four years in prison. Second-degree involuntary manslaughter is a Class D felony, which carries a maximum prison term of four years.
Himes’ jury trial was to begin Monday in Stone County Circuit Court. The case was transferred last year from Barry County to Lawrence County on a change of venue, but the trial was to have been conducted this week in Stone County while Lawrence County court offices move into a new courthouse building.
Jessica Murphy was one of perhaps two dozen people who went to the home of some young Monett men the night of March 3, 2007, for a birthday party for two women, according to previous testimony.
Witnesses said Murphy and Himes arrived at the party independent of each other. Himes did not live at the house.
Murphy was found dead early the next day at the home. She 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.
Two of the house’s three occupants who were at home at the time of the party — Joseph Rattles, 20, and Dennis Meinke Jr., 22, now of Pierce City — face 10 misdemeanor charges apiece of allowing an underage person to drink on their premises.
For the Murphys, questions still persist about what happened the night of March 3. Although almost two dozen people attended the party, few have come forward to recount what happened, the family says.
“They more or less quit talking,” Jan Murphy said Monday. “After two years, they just kind of clam up on you.”
Meinke, who was among the prosecution’s witnesses to testify at Himes’ preliminary hearing last year, previously said he only once saw Himes interact with Murphy at the party. Himes kept trying to grab Murphy and would not leave her alone, Meinke said.
Meinke said he was aware that Murphy spent some time in the bathroom, apparently vomiting, with a pair of female friends before she fell asleep on the floor of one of the bedrooms early March 4, 2007. He said he provided Murphy with a pillow and blanket, and checked on her several times before he went to bed about 4:30 a.m.
When a friend tried to rouse Murphy for work sometime after 10:30 a.m., her skin had turned “an ugly purple” and felt “really cold,” Meinke said. Emergency responders who were called to the scene later said Murphy was already dead.
Upcoming
Brandon Himes’ sentencing hearing is set for 1 p.m. May 22, either in Barry County or Lawrence County court.
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