Alabama woman admits to role in three ‘terrible murders’
Published 4:20 pm Saturday, December 4, 2021
An Alabama woman has pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder in the 2019 shooting deaths of three people in Bethalto, Illinois.
The Madison County State’s Attorney’s office announced that Brittany McMillan, 30, entered the pleas in the deaths of Shari Yates, 59, her son Andrew Brooks, 30 and 32-year-old John McMillian.
Madison County Circuit Judge Kyle Napp sentenced McMillan on Friday to life imprisonment, according to the Belleville News-Democrat.
Murder charges are pending against Brady Witcher, 43, who is scheduled to stand trial in January.
Authorities claim that Witcher and McMillan knew the victims and that Witcher was the gunman when the pair visited the Bethalto home to get a car to avoid police.
Bethalto is 21 miles (34 kilometers) northeast of St. Louis.
One investigator in the case described the defendants as “evil individuals” who dispatched their victims execution-style.
“These terrible murders shocked the entire Madison County community,” Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Haine said in a statement. “Our prayers today are especially with the family of the victims, who suffered so much loss and acted with incredible dignity and strength. We hope that the defendant’s guilty plea will begin to provide some closure as we continue to aggressively pursue justice against her co-defendant as well.”
Witcher and McMillan also were charged with capital murder in 2019 in connection with the shooting death of 31-year-old Kellie Ann Hughes in Jefferson County, Alabama. Hughes’ body was found in a wooded area five days before the Bethalto victims were found on Dec. 19, 2019.