Judge issues 14-year sentence after guilty plea to shooting woman in the face

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A woman will be imprisoned for at least 14 years after pleading guilty to the 2022 southwest Columbus murder of a 19-year-old.

According to the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office, Nachyla Halton, 20, pleaded guilty this week to voluntary manslaughter, a first-degree felony, along with a three-year firearm specification. The plea stems from the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Jazmine Chester, who was found dead on May 27, 2022, during a wellness check.

Police found Chester at her Wedgewood Village Apartment on the 3700 block of Briggs Road in the Holly Hill neighborhood. She died from a gunshot wound to the face.

The Wellness check was ordered after Chester had not been heard from in eight days. She was last seen entering her apartment on May 19 at 2 a.m. with an unknown person, later identified as Halton.

Halton was interviewed by police in November while in Cuyahoga County Jail, where she was being detained on weapons charges. She told police that she was not in Columbus in May but acknowledged knowing Chester by first name only.

Police, however, said they connected Halton to the car that was seen leaving the apartment and she fled to the Cleveland area. She was charged with murder and arrested after her release from Cuyahoga County Jail.

Following Halton’s guilty plea, Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Judge Bill Sperlazza sentenced her to 14 to 19½ years in prison, a term jointly recommended by the prosecution and Halton’s defense attorney.