BATON ROUGE — A Central woman pleaded guilty Wednesday to manslaughter in the 2023 shooting death of a 12-year-old girl who knocked on her front door. The woman faces up to 40 years in prison.

In an emotional courtroom in downtown Baton Rouge, Ester Williams, 27, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in exchange for state prosecutors dropping other charges, including second-degree murder and battery on a correctional officer.

On Tuesday at the 19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge, the victim's mother said she agreed to the deal to avoid having to re-live the incident through a trial.

"I'm tired. I'm sick. I'm stressed," Bertha Johnson said. "I still don't know all the details and all that took place. All I know is that my baby is gone...I won't have peace until I finish this. Once this is over and done with and they have their last rule on the judgment, then I'll be OK."

Cedrica Lee, 12, was killed on May 13, 2023. The girl was believed to have been caught in a feud among Williams, her boyfriend Patrick Johnson and his ex-girlfriend Gentrea Haley.

Haley faces a scheduled bench trial on a misdemeanor stalking charge connected to Patrick Johnson. A grand jury considered potential charges against her related to the shooting but did not charge her with them.

"What Gentrea got that wasn't even a slap on the back that was a pat on her hand like you do to a little bitty toddler to guide them right 'No no that's hot.' That's what she got and she is the cause of all this happening she is the reason why my baby is dead she's the reason Ester has to be away from her children and whatever they sentence her to," Bertha Johnson said.

Patrick Johnson was arrested after the crime as an accomplice to Williams but has not been prosecuted.

According to investigators, Haley had followed Williams and Johnson to their home and then had two kids knock on the door while she waited across the street. Williams is accused of opening the door and firing a gun, with a bullet striking Lee.

Williams will be under house arrest until her Oct. 16 sentencing date, but the manslaughter charge she pleaded guilty to carries a maximum sentence of 40 years.

"That's kind of harsh, no, but a fair enough sentence because you got to understand I'm still a mom that don't have my child and I don't know how many years I'll be here to not have my baby. She has a chance to be home with her children. Her being sympathetic was enough for me to move on. So do I want her to be in there for forty years? I'm not looking for that woman to be in there for forty years her babies would be what? She got small kids. But I do want justice for my child," Bertha Johnson said.