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Woman pleads guilty to manslaughter in 2015 death of 18-year-old man

A file photo of Marissa Shephard. A file photo of Marissa Shephard.
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HALIFAX -

More than five years after a young man was murdered in Moncton, N.B., a woman has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and arson, relating to his death.

Marissa Shephard was originally found guilty of first degree murder in the death of 18-year-old Baylee Wylie, who was stabbed about 200 times in December 2015. The court has since overturned that conviction due to errors committed during her 2018 jury trial.

Court documents released Tuesday show that Shephard admitted to participating in the attack, but says she did so because she was afraid for her own safety.

According to earlier court documents, the victim, Shephard, and two other young men gathered at her home for "some drug-fueled excitement" that ended tragically with Wylie being tied to a chair, beaten and stabbed repeatedly with a variety of weapons.

Shephard, who was 20 at the time of her arrest, was the third person convicted of murdering Wylie.

Devin Morningstar was found guilty of first-degree murder in 2016, while Tyler Noel pleaded guilty in May 2017 to second-degree murder and arson with disrespect for human life. Both received life sentences.

Shephard is scheduled to be sentenced in August.

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