A Benton woman accused of a carjacking and murder almost four years ago changes her not guilty plea to guilty of first-degree murder.

According to the Caddo Parish District Attorney's Office, 31-year-old Stacey Blount-Juneau admitted to slitting 68-year-old Rose Mary Coleman's throat with a boxcutter, then running her over with her own car before fleeing.

District Judge John Mosely, Jr., has sentenced Blount-Juneau to life in prison with no chance of probation, parole or reduction of sentence. She also agreed that she'll serve another 32-year sentence from pending court action in Natchitoches Parish in separate charges consecutively to her life sentence, and has waived her rights to the lengthy appeals process.

Blount-Juneau was awaiting trial for Coleman's murder. The Shreveport woman's body was found in a vacant lot in the 9500 block of Mansfield by a jogger in November 2012. Police in Natchitoches found Coleman's abandoned car there and took Blount-Juneau into custody.

By pleading guilty, Blount-Juneau escapes the death sentence she may have received had the case gone to trial. In a DA's Office news release, Coleman's family expressed mixed feelings about the sentence.

"I wish things had been different," Tiffany Coleman, Rose Mary's daughter, said. She also added that Blount-Juneau would have to answer to God, ultimately, but that God also demands much of those who suffer at the hands of transgressors. "At the end of the day...He would not forgive me if I did not forgive you," she said. "I forgive you."

Caddo District Attorney James E. Stewart, Sr., said this case has lingered on the docket for almost four years and today's plea brought a necessary resolution to the grieving family. He said he's pleased Blount-Juneau took responsibility for her actions.

"There are no winners in this type of situation," he said. "We will continue to pray for the Coleman family."

Blount-Juneau has been imprisoned at the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women at St. Gabriel.

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