ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis man who pleaded guilty to shooting into the home of his ex-girlfriend’s mother and killing her will spend 10 years in prison, it was decided Monday.
Tony Cross Jr., 28, pleaded guilty to reduced charges of voluntary manslaughter in the December 2021 incident before receiving the sentence.
Cross admitted to firing into the second story of the Hyde Park neighborhood home of 44-year-old Laveasha Houston. She was watching television when she was shot, according to court documents.
Prosecutors amended a second-degree murder charge to voluntary manslaughter and dismissed counts of unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action as part of a plea agreement with Cross. His case had been set for trial this week before St. Louis Circuit Judge Thomas McCarthy.
Houston’s husband said he was “very hurt” by his wife’s death but that he didn’t have hatred towards Cross who had helped him out after the death of his mother.
