(jacksonville.com)A Jacksonville woman pleaded guilty Monday to murdering a Sudanese refugee and agreed to testify against her co-defendant.
Ashley Nicole Jerrell, 23, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, armed robbery and grand theft auto in the Sept. 19 killing of Isaac Gideon Siliman, 37. She will testify against Merlin Williams Jr., 32, at his first-degree murder trial in June, said Assistant State Attorney Bernie de la Rionda.
Siliman was beaten to death with a hammer in his Southside apartment during a robbery, one of about 20 immigrants slain over a five-year period. He had fled the violence of his war-torn homeland to seek a better life in Jacksonville. He worked at Swisher International and was trying to save money to retrieve his wife and children from Sudan.
Circuit Judge Charles Arnold scheduled Jerrell’s sentencing for June 10. She faces up to life in prison. Williams faces a possible death sentence, de la Rionda said.