One of two men who were charged with decapitating a casino patron has now pleaded guilty.
According to a report from the Billings Gazette, Jeffery Glen Haverty, age 34, pleaded guilty on Monday in Yellowstone County District court to deliberate homicide.
Haverty (pictured left) and his companion Donald Ray Cherry (pictured right), age 32, were charged with deliberate homicide in the death of 41-year-old Myron Wesley Knight on October 26, 2017.
Prosecutors as well as Haverty's defense lawyers say they will jointly seek 50 years behind bars in the Montana State Prison under a plea agreement. The charges carry a maximum of 110 years. Haverty must be interviewed by detectives and testify against Cherry if necessary, as stated in the terms of the agreement.
Police say during that tragic night, the casino gambler Knight asked a casino employee (of Montana's Lil's Casino on King Avenue West) to hold onto his $120 that he won before leaving with the two men. The employee told police Knight handed the money to him for safekeeping, in case Haverty and Cherry planned to rob him.
Police state Haverty robbed Knight of his remaining $6 and started decapitating the poor man in a transient camp.
Authorities pointed out that after he returned from a gas station, Cherry also took part in the decapitation.
Knight's headless body was found three weeks later, on November 15, 2017.
Cherry's trial is scheduled to start in July.
This unfortunate story reminds us that when inside land-based casinos, always be alert and if you can prevent it, do not leave the premises with people you do not know. Notify an employee or another patron in the casino if you think you are in danger.
Source:
https://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/crime-and-courts/man-admits-killing-casino-patron-found-headless/article_9a7a9cb4-03e5-56e9-af6e-d45755c7b10f.html
