A Texas woman is starting a 55-year jail sentence for murdering her best friend and kidnapping her newborn.
On Thursday, Magen Fieramusca, 37, waived her right to an appeal and pleaded guilty to the 2019 killing of Heidi Broussard, 33, in an Austin courtroom.
Fieramusca was initially charged with capital murder, with the likelihood that she would face life in prison without parole. Her plea means she will be eligible for parole after serving roughly half of her 55-year sentence. She will also receive credit for the three years she served prior to her plea.
“We are hopeful that this outcome will bring some closure to the Broussard and Carey families and help them continue their healing process,” Travis County District Attorney José Garza said in a statement Thursday.
“This outcome will save the families from having to endure the difficult post-conviction litigation process,” Garza added. “We are grateful to our prosecutors and law enforcement partners who worked tirelessly on this case and secured justice for the victim’s families and our community.”
Fieramusca’s conviction comes a little over three years after Broussard disappeared from her Austin home. The mother of two had just given birth to her daughter Margot, when she was reported missing from the apartment she shared with her fiancé, Shane Carey, on Dec. 12, 2019. Broussard was also the mother of a 6-year-old son.
An intense and highly publicized search for Broussard led police to Fieramusca’s home in northwest Harris County, near Houston, where investigators found Broussard’s body in a duffel bag in the trunk of her car in the driveway. An autopsy later revealed she had been strangled to death with a dog leash, police said.Thankfully, Margot was found safe and returned to her father.
Fieramusca was later arrested and charged with capital m√rder and tampering with a c%rpse. She was also initially charged with kidnapping 3-week-old Margot and claiming her as her own.