An Indiana man who fatally shot his ex-girlfriend and her grandmother pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty, but he may still die behind bars after being sentenced this week, the Journal & Courier reports.
On Thursday, Clinton Superior Court Judge Justin H. Hunter sentenced 28-year-old Gary Ferrell II to 110 years in prison.
The punishment comes after Ferrell pleaded guilty in April to two counts of murder in connection with the deaths of his former girlfriend, 21-year-old Promise Mays, and her grandmother, 62-year-old Pamela Sledd.
Ferrell made the plea deal in exchange for prosecutors not pursuing the death penalty.
Under Indiana law, Ferrell must serve at least 75% of the sentence, meaning he would be at least 80 years old before he eligible for release. He would be 108 years old if he is not released early.
Hunter described in a sentencing order the terrifyingly “brutal and heinous” attack in which the victims were effectively forced to watch each other die.
NHK shooter, Gary Ferrell, sentenced to over 100 years https://t.co/3daHsaw8hh
— WLFI News 18 (@WLFI) September 7, 2023
“With respect to the murder he inflicted upon Pamela Sled, defendant shot Ms. Sledd after she had turned her back and was retreating from the scene of the offense she had witnessed against her granddaughter,” Hunter wrote in the order, according to WISH-TV.
“[Ferrell] acted out an entitlement to control and possess Promise Mays, whether in life or in death, even though she had demonstrated only kindness for the many people whom she encountered in her short and precious life.”
Authorities alleged that August 18, 2021, Ferrell ambushed Mays as she was pulling into the parking lot of an auto seat manufacturing plant in Frankfort, Indiana, where she, her grandmother and Ferrell all worked. The tragedy was recorded by plant security cameras.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Ferrell drove up behind Mays and tried to put her in his trunk. Sledd was also in the car and exited to try to help her granddaughter, but Ferrell shot Sledd three times.
When Mays refused to get in the trunk and crouched behind his vehicle, Ferrell shot her before backing over her body and fleeing in his blue Ford Focus.
Police later apprehended Ferrell following a high-speed chase.
Frankfort is about 45 miles northwest of Indianapolis.
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[Feature Photo: Promise Mays, left, and Pamela Sledd/Clinton County Sheriff’s Office]
