A Las Vegas woman has admitted to second-degree murder after allegedly decapitating her children’s father and disposing of his head in the trash.
Devyn Michaels, 46, pleaded guilty in the death of Johnathan James Willette, 46, and will be eligible for parole after 15 years. Court records show she entered her plea on Tuesday.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, on August 7, 2023. Willette’s mother found his body inside a home in Henderson, a southeast suburb of Las Vegas, reportedly wrapped in blankets on a bed.
Michaels and the victim reportedly have two daughters together, even though she also was married to Willette’s adult son.
The adult son told police that “their marriage is not a typical marriage and that they got married so he could help Devyn with her medical issues,” according to a police report obtained by the newspaper.
In an interview with police, Michaels alleged that the victim abused her and forced a child to “take showers in front of him,” according to KLAS-TV.
Michaels told police that the victim “tried to get her to conduct a sexual act on him” as she was rubbing his back while in bed, so she struck him in the head using a wooden stick, according to the Review-Journal.
Court records indicate that police had arrested Michaels on October 14, 2022, on a child abuse or neglect charge. A childcare facility employee had called the police to report bruising on an 8-year-old’s leg.
Clark County District Court Judge Mary Kay Holthus sentenced Michaels to one year of probation for the child abuse charge—after she had already killed Willette.
“I have done counseling classes, therapy, drug tests, psych evaluations, I’ve done everything,” Michaels told the judge in 2023. “Everyone I’ve spoken to say I’m not an abusive person and they don’t feel there’s any risk for me to abuse her or would ever do this again.”
Michaels claimed she didn’t live with Willette but said they were planning to move in together for the sake of their children, according to documents. However, this plan was complicated by the fact that Michaels was married and living with Willette’s son, making him both her husband and stepson.
According to documents, Michaels allegedly took Willette’s head from the crime scene in Henderson and brought it to her Las Vegas home, where she disposed of it in the trash. Prosecutors believe the head was likely picked up by a trash service and was never recovered.
FOX 5 Las Vegas reports that she also told police that she never intended to kill Willette, but wanted to hurt him enough to hospitalize him “so she could figure out what she could do with her children.”
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[Featured image:Devyn Michaels\Henderson Police Department]
