GUILTY TX - Heidi Broussard, 33, murdered, baby stolen, Austin, 12 Dec 2019 *friend charged* #12

[Trudie]

That's right!! I forgot they weren't married! Thank you JenniD!

I think he will be okay. I don’t think his expenses increased because HB was murdered by her supposed best friend. Once HB returned to work they would have had daycare or nanny expenses, as SC will. SS will make up a portion of her lost wages, imo. I think if you look on his FB you’ll see he has made some changes in his housing situation. A couple new videos out here too.
Also, didn’t someone say HB hoped to move to TC’s vacant house? Maybe that is still an option or even the vacant house could be sold or traded for SC to get the house he wants in the location he wants. Moo

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

That makes a helluva lotta sense.
I'm very curious about her demeanor throughout her alleged torturing and assassination of her friend.
I will never receive an answer to that though.
All I can do is wonder forever.
It's a difficult case for me.
I dislike her intensely and it can colour my judgement.

I know! I keep wondering about their last conversation & what was said......apparently HB saw the real Megan and it had to be so frightening.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

dup sorry

 

[yllek]

From the article:

[...]

According to a one-page indictment released Tuesday, Magen Fieramusca asphyxiated Heidi Broussard by “ligature estrangulation, with a leash and with her hand.”

Fieramusca faces up to life in prison if convicted.

[...]

According to an arrest affidavit unsealed this month charging Fieramusca with kidnapping and tampering, she set up an elaborate hoax in which she pretended for months to be pregnant and planned to present Broussard's infant as her own.

[...]

Attention began focusing on Fieramusca about six days after Broussard and the baby disappeared after police interviewed a woman who lived in their apartment complex. ...

[...]

As authorities began investigating Fieramusca, they obtained a search warrant for her internet search history. ...

Investigators began watching the Houston-area home where Fieramusca was living and noticed her car was parked in a way that looked as though its owner may have been trying to hide it, the affidavit said.

[...]

BBM

I wondered why prosecutors would have already taken the death penalty off the table, based on the snipped statement that MF could "face up to life in prison".

In reading the linked article, it now says "Fieramusca could face the death penalty or life in prison if convicted of capital murder." Woman linked to Heidi Broussard's death indicted on capital murder charge

 

[PommyMommy]

BBM

I wondered why prosecutors would have already taken the death penalty off the table, based on the snipped statement that MF could "face up to life in prison".

In reading the linked article, it now says "Fieramusca could face the death penalty or life in prison if convicted of capital murder." Woman linked to Heidi Broussard's death indicted on capital murder charge

The death penalty is still in play. As it stands, she faces life in prison. I'm not sure what the timeframe is in TX but within a specified amount of time, the prosecution will decide whether or not they are seeking the death penalty. MOO

 

[kittythehare]

The death penalty is still in play. As it stands, she faces life in prison. I'm not sure what the timeframe is in TX but within a certain amount of time, the prosecution will announce whether or not they are seeking the death penalty. MOO

There is no apparent reason for them not to seek and obtain it. A heinous crime.
Then it will become a poker game for probably 2 full years.
It should be so straightforward.
Her defense will be interesting if outrageous, I imagine.
The savagery of is what is most upsetting.
She had the wherewithal to obtain and use a gun to kill her friend quick and clean if she had been so inclined.
She chose a slow death, a terrifying death.
What is it that is in her?

 

[yllek]

The death penalty is still in play. As it stands, she faces life in prison. I'm not sure what the timeframe is in TX but within a certain amount of time, the prosecution will announce whether or not they are seeking the death penalty. MOO

Thank you PommyMommy.

My understanding is the same as your's -- it doesn't appear that prosecutors have decided whether or not to seek the death penalty.

If that's accurate, "up to life in prison" is misleading in that it's not the most severe sentence/penalty MF could receive if convicted of capital murder in Texas.

 

[yllek]

There is no apparent reason for them not to seek and obtain it. A heinous crime.
Then it will become a poker game for probably 2 full years.
It should be so straightforward.
Her defense will be interesting if outrageous, I imagine.
The savagery of is what is most upsetting.
She had the wherewithal to obtain and use a gun to kill her friend quick and clean if she had been so inclined.
She chose a slow death, a terrifying death.
What is it that is in her?

It will be interesting to see if prosecutors offer to take the death penalty off the table in exchange for a guilty plea (assuming MF is not deemed mentally incompetent).

If she were to plead guilty, it would save a lot of time associated with pre-trial hearings, trial, mandatory appeals...

I hope prosecutors get buy-in from Heidi's family in advance if they come to consider such a deal.

 

[MontereyMama]

There is no apparent reason for them not to seek and obtain it. A heinous crime.
Then it will become a poker game for probably 2 full years.
It should be so straightforward.
Her defense will be interesting if outrageous, I imagine.
The savagery of is what is most upsetting.
She had the wherewithal to obtain and use a gun to kill her friend quick and clean if she had been so inclined.
She chose a slow death, a terrifying death.
What is it that is in her?

Slow, terrifying, and in close physical proximity. And she used her hands in addition to a leash which sounds like sadistic desperation. This is too terrible.

 

[vlpate]

Were they waiting for this to pass to charge her?

Kidnapping + murder made it a capital murder charge, IIRC

 

[kittythehare]

It will be interesting to see if prosecutors offer to take the death penalty off the table in exchange for a guilty plea (assuming MF is not deemed mentally incompetent).

If she were to plead guilty, it would save a lot of time associated with pre-trial hearings, trial, mandatory appeals...

I hope prosecutors get buy-in from Heidi's family in advance if they come to consider such a deal.

DP takes at least 10 years and costs a fortune in appeals, it's the most expensive option.
She has a private lawyer still? That's likely to change to a public defender if it becomes a DP trial...
That will cost a lot too.
I'm not sure expense is a factor they will consider though.
It will be a long one for sure, I doubt we'll ever get inside her head. I can't see her taking the stand.
We will just receive somebody else's opinion on what it was that motivated her but it won't explain either her methodology or her rationale.
I got the feeling she just sat there, unfazed, calmly smoking as the Tr's confronted her, her friend's corpse rotting, just a few feet away.
The malice she displayed in attempting to pin it on Heidi's partner is egregious.
What was she thinking at all?
Playing with fire, withholding the smell of a decaying body from the man in whose house she lived.. Did she not smell it herself?
Insanity plea is likely, I reckon.

 

[Jsizzle]

DP takes at least 10 years and costs a fortune in appeals, it's the most expensive option.
She has a private lawyer still? That's likely to change to a public defender if it becomes a DP trial...
That will cost a lot too.
I'm not sure expense is a factor they will consider though.
It will be a long one for sure, I doubt we'll ever get inside her head. I can't see her taking the stand.
We will just receive somebody else's opinion on what it was that motivated her but it won't explain either her methodology or her rationale.
I got the feeling she just sat there, unfazed, calmly smoking as the Tr's confronted her, her friend's corpse rotting, just a few feet away.
The malice she displayed in attempting to pin it on Heidi's partner is egregious.
What was she thinking at all?
Playing with fire, withholding the smell of a decaying body from the man in whose house she lived.. Did she not smell it herself?
Insanity plea is likely, I reckon.

insanity plea is always crazy to me. Like aren’t all killers insane?! No sane person would do this. So that shouldn’t even be a plea. IMO

 

[PommyMommy]

The death penalty is still in play. As it stands, she faces life in prison. I'm not sure what the timeframe is in TX but within a specified amount of time, the prosecution will decide whether or not they are seeking the death penalty. MOO

Thank you PommyMommy.

My understanding is the same as your's -- it doesn't appear that prosecutors have decided whether or not to seek the death penalty.

If that's accurate, "up to life in prison" is misleading in that it's not the most severe sentence/penalty MF could receive if convicted of capital murder in Texas.

I tried to edit my post above but it was too late. See below:

First Degree Murder Sentencing and Penalties - FindLaw
States vary in terms of how often prosecution seeks the death penalty, and also in whether their top level murder convictions require the death penalty. Texas, for example, imposes death sentences on all those convicted of capital murder, its highest level murder charge.

Texas First Degree Murder Laws - FindLaw
In Texas, first degree murder (or capital murder), carries a very serious and very heavy penalty. Since Texas is a state that allows capital punishment, it is possible to receive a death penalty sentence. Generally speaking, the sentence for a capital felony in Texas is either death or life in prison without the possibility of parole.

ETA: See Seattle1's post below which explains it much better.

 

[Seattle1]

Capital Murder in Texas and Death Penalty Punishment:

TRIAL

A capital murder prosecution begins when the grand jury hands down an indictment charging a defendant with capital murder. The trial, which occurs in a Texas district court, proceeds in two phases.

During the first phase of the trial, called the guilt/innocence phase, the jury must decide whether the prosecution has proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty of capital murder.

If the jury finds the defendant guilty, that trial proceeds to the punishment phase, during which the jury answers special punishment issues.

The jury’s answers to the special issues determine whether the defendant is sentenced to death or to life imprisonment.

https://www.texasattorneygeneral.go...ms/Capital-Punishment-Appellate-Guide-EGN.pdf

 

[lisette]

Oh wow! What a day! KK sentences, FD attempts suicide and now this! So glad she has finally been indicted. Won’t bring Heidi back but at least a measure of justice is in the works.

Who is FD?

ETA: Nvm I know now

 

[alwaysonmymind]

The last death sentence in Travis county was for Brandon Daniel who murdered an Austin police officer in 2012.

I’m not holding out hope on Travis County DA going for the death penalty. moo

 

[UnderstandBlue]

A capital crime is death penalty eligible. What happens after this will determine if it's pursued, but the groundwork has been laid.

In my opinion, they will seek the death penalty, despite TC's reputation for not seeking it in general.

 

[Lillymac]

DP takes at least 10 years and costs a fortune in appeals, it's the most expensive option.
She has a private lawyer still? That's likely to change to a public defender if it becomes a DP trial...
That will cost a lot too.
I'm not sure expense is a factor they will consider though.
It will be a long one for sure, I doubt we'll ever get inside her head. I can't see her taking the stand.
We will just receive somebody else's opinion on what it was that motivated her but it won't explain either her methodology or her rationale.
I got the feeling she just sat there, unfazed, calmly smoking as the Tr's confronted her, her friend's corpse rotting, just a few feet away.
The malice she displayed in attempting to pin it on Heidi's partner is egregious.
What was she thinking at all?
Playing with fire, withholding the smell of a decaying body from the man in whose house she lived.. Did she not smell it herself?
Insanity plea is likely, I reckon.

I didn't know she had ever had a private defense attorney. Who's paying for that I wonder if she does. ???

 

[alwaysonmymind]

She can have a private attorney that’s been appointed by the court and paid by the county.

Details here including fee schedule.

Court Appointment System

 

[BeachSky]

DP takes at least 10 years and costs a fortune in appeals, it's the most expensive option.
She has a private lawyer still? That's likely to change to a public defender if it becomes a DP trial...
That will cost a lot too.
I'm not sure expense is a factor they will consider though.
It will be a long one for sure, I doubt we'll ever get inside her head. I can't see her taking the stand.
We will just receive somebody else's opinion on what it was that motivated her but it won't explain either her methodology or her rationale.
I got the feeling she just sat there, unfazed, calmly smoking as the Tr's confronted her, her friend's corpse rotting, just a few feet away.
The malice she displayed in attempting to pin it on Heidi's partner is egregious.
What was she thinking at all?
Playing with fire, withholding the smell of a decaying body from the man in whose house she lived.. Did she not smell it herself?
Insanity plea is likely, I reckon.

I bet she’ll have to sleep with one eye open in there.
JMO