JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. — A Jeffersonville man charged with fatally shooting his ex-wife pleaded to a lesser charge Monday.
Jessey Andrews appeared in Clark County Circuit Court and pled guilty to reckless homicide in the death of Jasmine Andrews. The charge will likely carry six years.
Andrews is accused of shooting and killing Jasmine at his home on Kerry Ann Way in February 2022.
Jasmine's dad, James Cochran, said it’s a punch in the gut.
"No justice at all. Six years compared to 65 years - what he should be getting,” Cochran said. “Now we have to suffer on top of what's already happened. And knowing that he's going to get out one day and be walking the streets again.”
However, Jasmine's mother has a different perspective.
“I felt his pain in the courtroom,” Karen Siegrist said. “I felt guilty that he realized he did so much wrong. And I think he should pay. But, I also think that everybody has, like, skeletons in our closet - like scars. And I think that he really did love her.”
Siegrist said it's the kind of grace and love not many understand.
“I forgive him even though people never understand that. My daughter taught me that kind of love,” she said. “And when she was happy, she was happy. And when he loved her, he loved her.”
Despite differing perspectives, both sides of the family said Jasmine was beautiful inside and out.
“She was trying to be happy. And that's just how I want to remember her, just being happy,” Sandra Keene, Jasmine’s aunt, said.
Jasmine's family also said her relationship with Andrews was violent and she was trying to leave.
If you, or anyone you know, are dealing with domestic violence please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or visit 'The Hotline.org' to speak with a specialist online.
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