Man takes plea deal in 2015 killing of girlfriend's childhood abuser
BATON ROUGE - A man charged with the 2015 killing of his girlfriend's abuser pleaded guilty to a lesser charge on Monday.
Court documents show Jace Crehan pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of Robert Noce. He was previously found guilty of second-degree murder back in 2017, but that verdict was vacated in 2020 after a U.S. Supreme Court verdict banning Louisiana's non-unanimous jury convictions.
Noce was previously charged with sexually abusing Crehan's girlfriend but had pleaded guilty to reduced charges in that case. He was sentenced to five years probation about a month before his body was found stuffed in a barrel at his home.
For the manslaughter conviction, Crehan is sentenced to 35 years with the Department of Corrections with credit for time served. He's been imprisoned since his trial concluded in December 2017.
District Attorney Hillar Moore spoke on the plea deal Monday.
"We believe that today’s plea and acceptance of responsibility adequately resolves this case. This defendant offered to accept responsibility and made an offer to the State which was acceptable. I believe the plea, factual basis and sentence is appropriate based on circumstances at this point in time. The factual basis and sentence encompasses not only the murder but also the obstruction of justice committed by both of these defendants," said Moore.
He also has an additional seven-year sentence for an obstruction of justice charge.
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Crehan's girlfriend, Brittany Monk, was also charged in the killing. She previously pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter as well.