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AUSTIN (KXAN) — Magen Fieramusca is scheduled to appear in the 460th District Court of Travis County Tuesday to plead guilty to the 2019 murder of her best friend, Heidi Broussard.
Broussard was found dead in the trunk of a car near a home in Jersey Village, Texas, in December 2019. Broussard’s baby, who was three weeks old at the time, was found alive in good condition.
The plea hearing comes less than three weeks after Fieramusca was supposed to appear in court on Jan. 11, but was placed in a COVID-19 unit in the jail and could not be brought in, according to the court. However, the attorneys still met with the judge to provide updates on the case and reschedule the hearing.
During the Jan. 11 hearing, the judge informed the attorneys the case would be going to a jury trial in March if the two parties could not agree on a resolution soon.
Fieramusca was originally facing charges of capital murder, kidnapping and tampering with a corpse for killing Broussard, before taking her baby and trying to pass it off as her own child. If convicted these charges would have carried a prison sentence of life without the possibility of parole.
Last week, KXAN learned that the attorneys involved in the case had come to a resolution. In exchange for a guilty plea, Fieramusca will be convicted of the lesser offense of murder, and the kidnapping and tampering with evidence charges will be dropped.
“The Defense and Prosecution have come to a negotiated agreement, and we expect a sentence of 55 years in prison from the Court this coming Tuesday, 1/31. As charged, Ms. Fieramusca was looking at life without the possibility of parole. After considerable discussion, in conjunction with significant compelling mitigation related to Ms. Fieramusca and the possible appellate issues related to the search of her residence, both parties feel that this is the appropriate resolution. I imagine many have questions that will never be adequately answered, nevertheless, I hope that this plea brings some closure to this family’s great loss.”
BRIAN ERSKINE, FIERAMUSCA’S DEFENSE ATTORNEY
Complete coverage of the case
- Defense: Texas Rangers searched home of woman accused of killing friend, kidnapping baby without warrant
- Texas mom killed, baby kidnapped: Judge says evidence can be used in Magen Fieramusca case
- Infant found at Harris Co. home as authorities investigate missing Austin mom Heidi Broussard & baby
- Missing mom found dead near Houston, baby daughter safe, longtime friend arrested
- 3-week-old daughter of Heidi Broussard reunited with family days after mother’s body found
- Heidi Broussard remembered as ‘awesome mom, friend, beautiful spirit’
- One year later: Heidi Broussard’s disappearance, death and the wait for a trial
- Infant found at Harris Co. home as authorities investigate missing Austin mom Heidi Broussard & baby
- Missing mom found dead near Houston, baby daughter safe, longtime friend arrested
- 3-week-old daughter of Heidi Broussard reunited with family days after mother’s body found
- Heidi Broussard remembered as ‘awesome mom, friend, beautiful spirit’
- Family gathers for funeral of murdered Austin mom Heidi Broussard
- Woman accused of kidnapping Heidi Broussard charged with her murder
- Woman charged with kidnapping Austin mom and baby pretended child was her own
- Court date pushed back for woman connected to murdered mom Heidi Broussard
- ‘Abducted’ special about Heidi Broussard case airing on Dateline NBC Friday night
- Magen Fieramusca not in court Monday, defense attorneys waiting for evidence
- Austin woman accused of killing friend, stealing her baby makes first court appearance
In addition to entering a plea, Fieramusca is expected to listen to victim impact statements while in court. KXAN will update this story as the events in court unfold.
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