A Las Vegas woman who pleaded guilty to beheading her on-again off-again boyfriend stunned the courtroom on Thursday when she declared she is innocent of the crime and has proof.
Devyn Michaels, now 47, entered into a plea deal in September in which she admitted to second-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon of Johnathan Willette, 46, in exchange for the chance to get parole after 15 years behind bars.
She was due to be sentenced on Thursday, but the hearing went off course when Michaels decided to address District Court Judge Tierra Jones directly, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.
‘I know right now no one in my family feels that I am innocent at any point and I understand that, but I can actually prove my innocence. I actually can,’ Michaels, who also goes by the name of Tracee Tavarez, said through tears.
‘And I am not going to sop fighting to prove my innocence.’
She then went on to accuse her lawyers of misdirecting her.
‘I don’t know how to fix any of this anymore, I don’t,’ Michaels claimed.
‘I keep listening to what everyone tells me is the best thing to do: “Just do this and it’ll work out this way and follow this advice and we’ll do this” and I keep listening to the people because they’re saying, “This is the best advice” and it doesn’t turn out the way they tell me it will.’
Devyn Michaels, now 47, stunned a Las Vegas courtroom on Thursday when she declared she is innocent of her boyfriend’s murder and has proof
Michaels previously entered into a plea deal in which she admitted to second-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon of Johnathan Willette, 46 (pictured) in exchange for the possibility of parole after 15 years behind bars
Following her shocking outburst, Chief Deputy District Attorney John Giordani said he was ‘not comfortable’ with what Michaels was alleging and said he was ‘willing to let her out of her plea deal.’
The judge then warned Michaels that she could be convicted of first-degree murder if she chose to go to trial, but Michaels insisted she still wanted to withdraw her plea.
She was first arrested in August 2023, after Willette’s mother discovered his headless body in his bed.
Cops found the body still ‘smoking’ and noted that it smelled of chemicals, believed to be bleach and ammonia, when they entered the room on August 7. An investigation was launched into the grisly death, and Michaels was promptly brought in for questioning.
She initially denied the killing, and claimed that she left his home the night of his death.
But she later admitted to striking Willette on the head with a wooden stick after she said he tried to force her into a sex act. Michaels insisted at the time she only wanted to hospitalize him.
When a detective then asked if it was possible she killed him and just did not remember, Michaels reportedly said it was ‘very possible,’ according to KSNV.
She then claimed that Willette was abuse towards her, and alleged that he would have his oldest child take showers in front of him, according to an arrest report originally obtained by 8News Now.
The mother-of-two was first arrested in August 2023, after Willette’s mother discovered his headless body in his bed.
Police found Willette’s body still ‘smoking’ and reeking of chemicals, believed to be bleach and ammonia
Officers found Willette’s wallet, keys, social security card and blood-covered phone at Michaels’ home
Police claimed in the document that after Michaels decapitated the body, she took his head from Willette’s Henderson home to her place in Las Vegas, where she disposed of it in a trash can.
Officers never found Willette’s head, and believe a trash service likely picked it up.
They did, however, locate Willette’s wallet, keys, social security card and blood-covered phone at Michaels’ home.
When she was then questioned again about his death, police said she was given a polygraph test that found she had a ‘significant reaction’ to a question about her participation in his murder.
Assistant District Attorney Giordani called the circumstances of the case ‘haunting’ in the moment’s before Michaels’ outburst on Thursday.
‘As you know, the defendant not only murdered her ex but then desecrated his body by decapitating him and putting chemicals on his body, causing him to burn,’ he alleged.
‘The defendant admitted to the fatal blow. She never admitted to the decapitation, but the evidence was overwhelming that it was obviously her who did it,’ the prosecutor claimed.
Michaels’ plea deal has now been rescinded as she insisted she wanted to go to trial
Willette’s father, JC Willette agreed as he called Thursday’s hearing ‘disgraceful.’
‘We were here for a sentencing and she continues to use the system to delay,’ he said.
His wife and Willette’s stepmother, Valerie Willette, also claimed that Michaels ‘has no remorse’ and ‘needs to pay.’
It now remains unclear when Michaels may be due back in court, but Judge Jones indicated the case would move forward quickly.
‘This is not going to stay stagnant and wait and wait and wait around for a trial,’ she said. ‘This case has been delayed extensively and this case is not going to be further delayed so that there is no justice for everybody.’
