The Jackson man accused of stabbing his ex-girlfriend to death and attempting to kill another man earlier this year will be serving at least 25 years -- and perhaps the rest of his life -- in prison for his crimes.
Wade A. Gaunt, 44, of 51 Park St., Jackson, chose to plead guilty as part of a plea-bargain arrangement rather than go to trial on the five charges against him. Initially, the Court had Wednesday's session scheduled as a status conference.
Gaunt was accused of killing Maria Colvin at her Clay Banner Road residence near Oak Hill in the early-morning hours of March 28 and also attempting to kill Colvin's companion, Jose Rufino Xochicale Vallejo of Portsmouth, who survived the stabbing attack.
Gaunt pled guilty to the charges of Aggravated Murder, Attempted Murder and Fleeing and Eluding. In return, the state agreed to drop the death-penalty specification in the Aggravated Murder charge, as well as other single counts of Felonious Assault and Tampering With Evidence. In so doing, he waived his right to a trial by jury and other established rights of the accused.
Judge Leonard Holzapfel handed down the same sentence that was recommended by both Prosecutor Jonathan Blanton and defense attorney Greg Meyers in pre-sentencing statements. Blanton said the plea agreement had the support of the Colvin family.
Gaunt is to serve a life sentence on the Aggravated Murder charge, but will be eligible for parole in 25 years. The judge ordered a 10-year term on the Attempted Murder charge and a 5-year term on the Fleeing and Eluding charge, but these terms are to be served concurrently with the life term and will not add to the total time served.
Gaunt will have to serve a minimum of 25 years before being eligible for parole, then will have to be approved for it by a parole board. There is no guarantee parole will happen at that time or ever.
Under the law, the sentence could have specified the possibility of parole after 20 or 25 years of incarceration or a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
When he was given the opportunity to speak, Gaunt apologized for his actions and said he had no excuses to offer. He didn't know what happened to him the night of the murder and realized that he needed to be punished.
"I don't know what happened to me," Gaunt said. "I have no excuses for what happened that night."
In his remarks, defense attorney Meyers stated that Gaunt "deeply regrets" what happened and that he was in an "alcoholic stupor" at the time of the murder and added "there was no explanation" for his actions.
"He has fundamentally flushed his life away," Meyers observed. "We are grateful if the Court was willing to accept this recommendation."
In reporting the crime, investigators theorized that Gaunt, who was described as an ex-boyfriend of Colvin's, came onto her residential property shortly after 1 a.m. on March 28 and allegedly became enraged when he found Colvin and Vallejo in a hot tub on the back deck. He stabbed both victims with a preliminary autopsy showing that Colvin sustained 19 stab wounds. Gaunt also was accused of flattening the tires on some of the vehicles parked that night at the Colvin property.
Gaunt fled from the scene in his car, but his vehicle was spotted by law enforcement officers south of Jackson and he was captured shortly later after exiting his car at his residence in Jackson.
Initially, Gaunt admitted coming onto the Colvin property, but said he "blacked out" and had no memory of the attack. He told officers he threw his knife out the car window minutes later while driving on Franklin Valley Road. Investigators searched for the knife, but never found it.
Colvin's Friends Speak
Prior to the sentencing, the Court heard a statement from Maria Colvin's "closest friends", Marci Chandler, who spoke for herself and other members of Maria's family. Maintaining her composure, she read from a prepared text from the front of the courtroom and addressed her remarks to Gaunt.
Marci noted that neither Maria's children or her mother were present in the courtroom because they did not feel they "could emotionally, mentally or physically bear to be in the presence of Maria's murderer." During her statement, she related how the murder has devastated Maria's children and her mother.
Marci stated, "I think I can speak for most of Maria's family and close friends when I say that we have felt anger, fear, pain, horror, sadness and regret over what you (Wade) did to Maria," she said. "We all ask the question why? Why did you have to kill our sweet Maria? And I think I can safely say there is no answer or reason you could give that would be acceptable to any of us."
As for the children, Bethany and Trenton, Maria stated, "They have lost everything. It has been horrible to watch. What happened to their mother will haunt them both for the rest of their lives."
Addressing Gaunt again, "Marci continued, "You committed a senseless, selfish and brutal act and I can only hope that 25 years is enough time for you to come to terms with what you did. Not only did you kill Maria, you severely injured another human being. You traumatized two beautiful children, terrorized Maria's mother and close friends and you also devastated a community."
Marci concluded by suggesting to Gaunt that Maria's children will pay a greater price than him in the long run.
"You have hope in 25 years that you may get out and have some semblance of a normal life...No one can replace Maria and no one can bring her back. Life will never be normal for them."
(For a complete text of Marci Chandler's statement, go to the Opinion section of this Web site.)
