Shelby County Judge William Bostick III on Monday ordered 47-year-old Jeff West to serve 16 years in prison for the death of his wife, Kat West.
In November, Jeff West was convicted of reckless manslaughter in the death of 42-year-old Kat West, a Calera mother and online exhibitionist.
Kat West died from a blow to the head from a Lucid Absinthe bottle wielded by her husband, a jury deemed. He has maintained his innocence for more than three years, contending she died as the result of a drunken, accident fall.
Jeff West addressed the court before sentencing. He talked of all hes missed while jailed over the past three years. He never mentioned his wife by name or her death, only saying I lost my best friend.
Bostick said he took into consideration Kat Wests familys pleas of leniency. He said he gave less weight to the testimony of Nancy Martins request, however. Martin, Kat Wests mother, has supported her son-in-law throughout the entire criminal process. The judge said, In my opinion, shes ignored the evidence in this case.
He said he also considered Jeff Wests military history, his lack of criminal record and his strong ties to the community.
We dont drag people into courts of law and try them for who they are. We drag people into courts of law and try them for what they did,' Bostick said. Our laws designed to punish people not for who they are but for what they do. In this case the the jury found you to be responsible for your wifes death. They imposed that responsibility on you. You were afforded the opportunity to accept responsibility for causing your wifes death. You have, for your own reasons, taken the position that you dont intend to do that. So the jury had to do that for you.
I know there were some versions of the evidence that may say Kat was responsible for her own death, or her drinking. She contributed to her demise, but I dont consider that mitigating at all in this case,' the judge said. Domestic violence always follows according to a pattern. Kats death was foreseeable I dont believe you woke up the morning that this offense occurred and decided todays the day Im going to kill her. I dont believe the happened. But I do believe this could have been avoided, I do believe it was foreseeable and I do believe with the jury that it is your reckless acts that caused her death.
West will receive credit for the nearly three years hes already served. He will appeal.
The case was prosecuted by assistant district attorneys Daniel McBrayer and Ben Fuller. Joined by District Attorney Jill Lee, they spoke following Mondays sentencing. Obviously we would have preferred a 20-year sentence just as we would have preferred a murder verdict,' McBrayer said. We respect the judges sentence and the jurys verdict. We are glad he will see the inside of a prison for this killing. We think thats important.
Prior to the start of last years trial, Jeff West was offered a plea deal that would have allowed him to be released immediately for time served. He turned down that deal. That is our standard practice. Here in this case we did make an offer that was within the voluntary guidelines but that was premised on the defendant accepting responsibility for this crime and he didnt,' McBrayer said. So thats why you see a difference in what we offered in the case and the ultimate sentence we asked for.
McBrayer was asked for his reaction to Jeff Wests statement in which he only barely mentioned his wife. It struck me that he mentioned very little other than himself,' he said.
McBrayer described Jeff West as calculating. I think he was very thoughtful and deliberative about every action and every word that he said in this case,' he said. The jury found this was a reckless act but it was backed up by intentional actions, whether it was moving the body , what he said to police, and when he said it.
Fuller said Jeff West has refused to accept any responsibility. Its been consistent throughout the trial. That was our point he bears responsibility from start to finish and he just refuses to accept that,' he said.
Jeff Wests attorney, John Robbins, said he was expecting a 20-year sentence. I appreciate we didnt get the full maximum sentence. My position has been that even though he was convicted of manslaughter,' he said, I think this was a case that probation would have been appropriate, especially after serving almost three years on this so far.
He said he asked Jeff West if he was sorry he did not take the plea deal. He still satisfied with that position that hes taken since Day 1,' Robbins said. Im not at liberty to tell you exactly what he said, but you can read between the lines.
Im sorry the prosecution wants him to come out and say I did this. Since Day 1 he has denied it and thats his position. It wasnt going to change,' he said. He had an opportunity to take that position and go home. He refused to admit to something that he didnt do. You have to respect the person for that.
Robbins talked about how much weight is given to a victims family and their wishes in criminal cases. Usually, the victims family does not take the side of the defendant which is what happened in this case.
Still, Robbins said, the same amount of equity should be given to the wishes of Kat Wests family. You cant take into consideration only when its convenient for you,' Robbins said. Thats what the prosecution did. Its convenient when the family wants to jump up and down and want vengeance. On the other hand, when the family wants leniency and mercy, we want to ignore that.
Here is full coverage of the death of Kat West
Kat West was killed Friday, Jan. 12, 2018.
Her body was found about 5 a.m. the following day by a 19-year-old neighbor who was on her way to work at a fast-food restaurant. The victim was wearing only a sports bra. A cell phone was nearby with a green bottle on top of it, which witnesses said appeared staged.
Kat West touted herself on social media as a stay-at-home mom but also had a subscription-only website, where she went by the name Kitty Kat West. Her Twitter and Instagram accounts, also under the name of Kitty Kat West, featured revealing photos of West, and directed viewers to her paid adult website, which cost $15.99 per subscription.
Jeff West, a former Birmingham Southern College campus security officer and U.S. Army veteran, has been held in the Shelby County Jail since his arrest three years ago. The couple had a daughter, Logan, who also goes by Lola, who is a teen.
During Mondays sentencing hearing, the couples 15-year-old daughter, a student at Calera High School, testified on behalf of her father, asking a judge to release him. She said she grew up in a loving home. Her father, she said, never spanked her nor was he ever loud or abusive. Instead, she described him as always calm.
He has always been my shield against the world,' Logan told the judge. Please give me my father back as soon as possible.
During a recess, Logan hugged her father for nearly two minutes.
Both Jeff Wests mother, Sue West, and mother-in-law, Nancy Martin, also testified on his behalf. The two families have presented a united front since the 2018 death and Jeff Wests arrest.
Martin, the only witnesses for the defense at last years trial, said she was shocked that he was convicted in the death of her daughter. He has always been a kind and caring person,' Martin said. He is a good man.
The Martins have custody of Logan but share the responsibility with Jeff Wests parents. We are a family,' she said.
Sue West, speaking for herself and her husband, Jerry West, broke down while talking about her son. He has always been empathetic and kind,' she said. He tries to see the good in everyone and every situation. He is the most forgiving person I know.
I need my child back,' Sue West said. Logan needs her dad back. This has been an absolute nightmare.
Jeff West (Shelby County Jail)
Also in Mondays sentencing hearing, McBrayer and Fuller again presented a photo of Kat West as she was found that Saturday morning, face down, bloodied and wearing only a pink bra.
They also played audio of a portion of his interview with police during which Jeff West was asked if the couple had arguments. He said it was nothing out of the ordinary but that they argued over her drinking. I dont like her drinking,' he told them.
Asked why they bought liquor that night, he said, I love her and she said she could control it.
In closing arguments, McBrayer said that Jeff West is a trained crime scene investigator who clearly knew what he was doing that night. He said even as recently as last week, Jeff West refused to take responsibility for the crime. He is what he always was, calculating,' McBrayer said.
He said Jeff West is a trained crime scene investigator who knew what he was doing when he staged the Lucid Absinthe bottle on top of the cell phone. Those two things, her drinking and her social media use, were what drove Jeff West to kill her, he said. He said evidence also showed that Jeff West moved his wifes body after he killed her to make it look like she had been hit by a vehicle.
The killing, and the consequences, merit a tougher sentence than the minimum guidelines call for. McBrayer asked that Jeff West get 20 years in prison.
Robbins, in his sentencing closing statements, said its been a difficult case on everyone involved. Not every person is the same, not every crime is the same and he said the judge should consider that when imposing Jeff Wests sentence, especially his 21 years of service in the U.S. Army during which he saw combat. He has no criminal record, and strong family times to the community.
He was not convicted of an intentional act,' Robbins said.
Robbins asked for no more than time served plus one additional year. He asked that the judge consider the familys feelings. Theyre pleading for mercy,' Robbin said.
The week-long trial took place in November 2020 at which time prosecutors said they believed Jeff West was motivated to kill his wife over her excessive drinking and frequent use of social media to promote her adult website.
In the hours leading up to the killing, the couple had shared a date night dinner and drinks out and a stop at a liquor store after where they bought Jameson whiskey and the bottle of Absinthe.
They both drank a lot and then Jeff West took two photos of his wife, who posed in a pink bra, pink multi-colored panties and pink stiletto shoes.
At some point, prosecutor Daniel McBrayer said, an argument erupted. He is tired and fed up with this Instagram stuff, McBrayer said. He grabs her phone and chunks it out the front door where it lands in the street. Prior testimony showed that Kat Wests phone was cracked.
Kat West went outside to retrieve her phone. She was wearing only the pink bra no pants or panties or shoes. McBrayer has said he believes Jeff West grabbed the liquor bottle, followed her outside and, holding the bottle in an inverted position, delivered the fatal blow to her head.
This marriage was not in a good place, McBrayer said during last years trial. This (was) a relationship on the rocks.
Jeff West carefully placed the Absinthe bottle on top of her cell phone and went back inside, leaving the front door open, McBrayer said. Jeff West then waited for somebody to find his wifes dead body in the street.
Shes dead. He doesnt know what to do because hes got a body outside of his (home) McBrayer said.
Crime scene photos and autopsy photos shown to the jury throughout the trial showed her head and upper body lying in the gutter and asphalt while her legs were in a neighbors grass. A couple of feet from her body was a large pool of blood and a blood trail flowing downhill.
A crime analyst testified that Jeff Wests left thumb and left ring finger fingerprints were found on the Lucid Absinthe bottle in an inverted position. In other words, the prints indicated the bottle was held upside down and by the bottles throat rather than its base.
Jeff Wests attorney, however, said he didnt believe Kat West was killed. She fell and hit her head, Robbins said. Theres no murder here.
A state medical examiner called by the prosecution testified that the wound to Kat Wests skull was so significant that it was not likely to have been caused by a fall.
Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences pathologist Dr. Stephen Boudreau said the laceration to Kat Wests skull was two inches long with the skin split open and contusions surrounding the wound.
The force of the blow and subsequent brain bleed, Boudreau said, pushed the brain down to the stem with deadly results.
It was a considerable amount of force to cause an injury like that, the doctor said. Kat West would likely have lost consciousness immediately, he said. Scalp wounds bleed like mad...its (the brain) a very vascular structure.
Asked if it was possibly to get that type of injury from a fall, Boudreau said it wasnt likely, especially at her height of 5-feet, 2-inches. The doctor said Kat West died from blunt force trauma. Whatever it was had an edge, but it wasnt sharp, he said of the object he believes caused her death.
Boudreau also testified that Kat Wests blood alcohol content was .23, nearly three times the legal limit to drive, and said urine and eye fluid toxicology testing indicated that at some point that night her alcohol levels would have been significantly higher.
Kat West had some bruises on her right leg in varying stages of healing that werent likely due to whatever incident caused her death, Boudreau testified. She also had a fresh injury to her toe that probably happened in the same time frame of the fatal head injury.
Home of Jeff and Kat West on Greenwood Circle in Calera.
Robbins said while the couple had arguments, like most married couples do, there was no discord or threat of violence in the marriage -- especially not that night.
Both sides discussed frequent text messages between the two. While the prosecution pointed out frequent arguments via text mostly one-sided with Kat West being the verbal aggressor Jeff Wests attorney also tried to use them to his advantage.
In December, about three weeks before Kat Wests death, she accused her husband via text of throwing away 14 years of marriage. Another text read, Im never doing this holiday again with you.
But text messages exchanged between the two on the day of the killing showed them making plans for that night and using terms of endearment with one another. The couple had matching tattoos on their wrists that read 4Life and often ended their texts with 12345 meaning I love you for life or 123, meaning I love you.
Jurors also heard testimony about forensics found on Kat Wests phone, which included the phones Health App, showing the number of steps she took, or where her phone was, the night authorities believe she was killed. The last time her phone moved, according to the data, was at 1054 p.m. and recorded 87 steps.
Data from the ADT alarm system showed the front door to the West home opened at 10:53:01 p.m. on Jan 12, 2018 and closed at 10:53:11 p.m. It opened again at 1:51:46 a.m. and remained open until 5:12:45 a.m., at which time it closed.
Jeff West had told investigators he fell asleep about 10:30 p.m. and didnt wake up again until 5:15 a.m. when he was awakened by his dogs barking at the fleet of police vehicles outside of his home. Though he said he went to bed at 10:30 p.m., testimony from his Health App phone data showed he took 18 steps from 11:03 p.m. until 11:10 p.m.
Robbins pointed out that that no blood or DNA was found on Jeff Wests clothes or his hands. And, Robbins said, no hair or scalp or brain tissue was found on the Lucid Absinthe bottle. Theres no suggestion of a struggle or fight in the house, Robbins said.
Jeff West, the attorney said, cooperated with police throughout the entire interrogation, voluntarily giving them permission to search the couples phones. He addressed the observation that Jeff West showed little to no emotion in the lengthy videotaped interview with police.
People deal with stressful situations, trauma, in different ways,' Robbins said. Not everybody stands there and cries. Hes a trained soldier. Soldiers are trained to keep their emotions in check.
Jeff West initially was expected to take the stand in his defense. However, he later spoke with his family and told the judge he would instead stay silent.
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Kat Wests husband, Jeff West, sentenced to 16 years in wifes death - AL.com