Matthew Perkins pleaded guilty Monday to murdering Stephanie Hershman and her two sons.MANCHESTER, Tenn. -
A former Army recruiter pleaded guilty Monday to the murders of a Coffee County mother and her two small children nearly two years ago.
Matthew Perkins was sentenced to three life sentences without the possibility of parole for the deaths of his girlfriend, 27-year-old Stephanie Hershman, and her sons, three-year-old Jathan and one-year-old Jaylon.
Their bodies were discovered in a closet in Hershman's home located on Liberty Court in Manchester in September of 2010.
In a statement, the Office of the District Attorney General said, "This plea agreement takes into consideration the fact that the death penalty might not be unanimously imposed against the defendant at trial of this case. Also, this disposition recognizes the uncertainty that the death penalty would ever be carried out and that if an execution of the defendant occurred it would likely be decades in the future. The families of the victims have approved this resolution."
Perkins was taken into custody at a motel in Tullahoma hours after the family's bodies were found.
Previous Stories:
- May 24, 2011: Death penalty sought for former Army recruiter
- Jan. 19, 2011: Former Army recruiter indicted by grand jury
- Dec. 10, 2010: Former Army recruiter charged with murder appears in court
- Sept. 28, 2010: Family says Manchester triple- murder suspect innocent
- Sept. 26, 2010: Funeral arrangements finalized for murdered Manchester family
- Sept. 24, 2010: Grandfather speaks on murder of grandchildren, daughter-in-law
- Sept. 23, 2010: Mother, 2 sons murdered in Manchester, Boyfriend charged
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