BUCYRUS—Tessa Perry, 55, of Crestline, was sentenced in Crawford County Common Pleas Court on Wednesday for causing the death of her friend Latonya Haynes in June of 2020.
In a negotiated plea agreement, Perry pleaded guilty to one count of voluntary manslaughter, a first-degree felony, and one count of intimidation of a witness, a third-degree felony.
Before pronouncing sentence on Perry, Crawford County Common Pleas Court Judge Sean Leuthold allowed the prosecution, victims, and the defense to speak.
Crawford County Prosecutor Matthew Crall addressed the court first:
“Often, these kinds of cases cause the system to focus on the defendant, but today we are going to hear from some family members of the victim,” Crall said.
Crall went on to share with the court that Haynes succumbed to injuries she suffered at the hands of Perry. Crall told the court about the fact that Haynes loved Harley’s and the Pittsburgh Steelers. She enjoyed flowers and puzzles. She loved people and spending time with her family. Haynes was long-time friends with Perry. After a night out, she called Perry to come get her in Mansfield and bring her back to her friend’s home.
According to Crall, Perry brought the friends back to her home and cooked French fries for them. According to Perry’s statement to police, she “snapped“ when her friend made derogatory remarks about Perry’s mother.
Perry told police that when the remark was made, she turned around with the pot in her hand, and the grease went on Haynes. She told the police that it was not intentional. Crall said her explanation was not consistent with events and that evidence revealed she had dumped the hot grease on the victim.
“Nearly all the grease went from the pan and onto the lap of Latonya,” Crall said.
Crall said the intimidation charges came after Perry threatened a witness with the same fate if she told what happened.
Crall told the court that while the cause of death was ruled a homicide, the victim had major underlying heart issues. The pathologist that performed the autopsy on Haynes told Crall that ultimately the grease poured on the victim caused her heart to stop beating.
“There is no adequate way to put a number or a sentence on someone’s life, but that’s the task we have as prosecutors, lawyers, and the court,” Crall said.
Before concluding, Crall outlined Perry’s very lengthy criminal record spanning several years and states.
When the victims were given their time to speak, the emotion was so raw that it was barely audible. One victim had to give their statement to Judge Leuthold, who characterized it as wrenching and difficult to read.
A statement submitted on behalf of Haynes’ brother, who spent 28 years in the military, was poignant. He described how the pain of losing his sister eclipsed his many deployments. He spoke of how she helped him deal with PTSD by being there for him to talk to; “ Not a day goes by that I don’t feel pain. My future memories with my sister were stolen by Perry.”
The daughter who took care of her mother’s injuries described the horror she felt when she first saw her mother’s burns. She told the court she would never forget her mother’s moaning and cries of pain. She described the day her mother died and her futile efforts to save her life. She told the court she is under psychiatric care and on medication as a result of the massive trauma she has suffered.
Defense attorney Brad Starkey told the court that nothing his client could say would take away the pain the family suffers and will continue to suffer.
“This is not the ending to the evening that my client wanted. Their friendship had been lengthy, and the evening started out in friendship,” Starkey said.
Starkey told the court his client had administered aid to the burns and that the victim declined medical treatment but left Perry’s home the next morning.
“She (Perry) did not want this result, but it’s something she has to live with for the rest of her life,” Starkey said.
When asked if she had anything to say, Perry apologized to the family for the incident; “ To them, I’m very, very sorry.” Perry said.
Judge Leuthold reiterated the senselessness of the crime:
“One of the most difficult parts of my job is that I constantly deal with deaths that make no sense at all in nature. Young people cut down in the prime of life over drugs or accidentally overdosing on drugs. Recently a four-year-old boy got his hands on a gun and lost his life. But this case…the sheer senselessness of it is overwhelming. Basically, a group of friends are together, and one friend loses her temper and throws hot grease on a person who’s been their friend for years. And now that person is gone. Now family and friends are left struggling with the loss and just trying to make some sense of it. That’s the worst thing about this case. It’s almost beyond belief, ”Leuthold said.
Judge Leuthold gave Perry the maximum sentences allowed by law.
On the voluntary manslaughter charge, she will serve a minimum of 10 years in prison to a maximum of 15 years in prison. Because the case falls under the Reagan Tokes law, based on Perry’s behavior in prison and other factors, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections can add up to five years to her sentence. For exemplary behavior, they may also reduce her time by between five and fifteen percent. On the intimidation charge, Perry will serve the maximum sentence of 36 months.
In total, Perry will spend the next 13-18 years in prison. She will receive jail time credit of 507 days.