Man gets life in killing streamed on Facebook Live

May 9, 2018 in News by RBN Staff

 

Source: Detroit News

Jackson – A Michigan man convicted of murder after he was accused of breaking into a home and shooting a woman while streaming the attack on Facebook Live has been sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Twenty-year-old Anthony Gelia was given the mandatory punishment Wednesday after a jury in March convicted him of first-degree felony murder, home invasion and a felony firearms charge stemming from the November 2016 killing of 26-year-old Brittany Southwell.

Jurors at the trial watched a Facebook Live recording recovered from Gelia’s cellphone showing him kicking in a door and opening fire.

Gelia’s lawyer suggested at trial that involuntary manslaughter was a more appropriate charge, saying Gelia didn’t know Southwell was behind a door when he fired. A bullet entered her side and punctured her lungs.

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