Closure for mother as slain girl’s father sentenced in manslaughter case
Kinsey Jerry, the man who admitted to killing his four-month-old daughter in January 2007, was sentenced to four years for manslaughter in that case, and a further two years for an aggravated assault against his four-month-old son in 2011.
For the mother of the victim, Honey Jerry, the wait between the crime and the judgment was longer than the sentence itself, but there was finally relief after nearly a decade in the court system.
On Jan. 31, 2007, Jerry violently shook his daughter in the Ranchlands home he shared with her and his then girlfriend, Megan Yellowfly, before calling 911.
The girl died from severe brain damage March 6 after being taken off life support.
Megan Yellowfly, Honey’s mother, said while it’s nice to finally have the door close on the case, the sentence will never be enough.
“I’ve waited long enough for this, but no sentence can even amount to what me and my family has gone through,” she said.
“I can finally move forward, freely, and not have this on conscience,” she adds.
In the aggravated-assault case, in which the four-month-old victim was seen with injuries including torn tonsils and damaged other parts of the mouth when Jerry shoved his fingers down the infant’s mouth in a fit of rage over the boy’s crying.
Justice Suzanne Bensler, when reading her sentencing, listed several aggravating and mediating factors, including the convicted man’s growth in trying to get spiritual help and guidance, but refused to allow for credit to be given for time served.
Bensler, however, did allow the pre-trial credit of 341 days to be allowed, though not at the traditional 1.5 rate, but one for one.
Kinsey Jerry did speak in front of the court before his sentence was handed down, which included an apology to the family of the victim, but, for Megan Yellowfly, time hasn’t healed those wounds.
“Forgiveness is a hard thing to do, maybe down the road I will accept it, but not right now.”