Court: Gillis’ WBR guilty plea stands
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An appellate court this week ruled that the guilty plea given in West Baton Rouge Parish by serial killer suspect Sean Vincent Gillis should stand.
Prosecutors in West Baton Rouge wanted the appellate court judges to either amend the plea to take away an objectionable condition attached to the plea deal or return the case to a Port Allen court for trial.
Gillis pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and received a mandatory sentence of life in prison.
Prosecutors could not be reached on Friday to comment on whether they will ask the Louisiana Supreme Court to review the Wednesday ruing by the 1st Circuit.
Gillis, 45, pleaded guilty to killing Joyce Williams. Authorities claim Gillis confessed to picking up Williams in Scotlandville, driving her across the Mississippi River and strangling her in a sugarcane field near Port Allen.
Gillis then dismembered Williams’ body and discarded it in Iberville Parish where it was found in January 2000, authorities have said.
“I strangled Joyce Williams and she died,” Gillis told state District Judge Robin Free during his August sentencing hearing.
Gillis pleaded guilty to killing Williams on condition that he still be allowed to appeal a ruling by Free that would have allowed his confession to be played to jurors at trial.
Gillis has maintained that during his questioning, he twice asked to speak with a lawyer, but those requests were ignored and the questioning continued.
Gillis’ appeal has not yet been ruled on.
If Gillis were to win that appeal, he would be allowed to withdraw his guilty plea and the case would be sent back to Free’s court for trial.
Prosecutors have argued that the questioning of Gillis only continued because Gillis continued to provide information to investigators.
In her appeal, West Baton Rouge Parish prosecutor Elizabeth Engolio claimed Gillis should not have been allowed to plead guilty with any condition.
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