A Christian County Circuit Court jury Friday night found 21-year-old Anshanique Leavell guilty of murder for the June, 2019 shooting death of Amareya’ Freeman on Greenville Road.
The jury did not go along with defense attorney Michael Thompson’s argument that Leavell thought her own life was in danger when she fired her gun at Freeman during a marijuana deal gone wrong. They found her guilty of murder, receiving stolen property and tampering with evidence.
Freeman’s father, Patrick Freeman, testified during the punishment phase and told the jury about the night he found out his son had been shot and killed.
He says the grief has been extremely hard on himself and Amareya’s mother.
After less than 20 minutes of deliberations, the jury came back and recommended 20 years for the murder, five years for tampering with evidence and three for receiving stolen property—to be served consecutively. She would be eligible for parole in approximately 20 years.
Formal sentencing was set for October 6.