Published: April 21, 2009 07:00 pm      

“Frankenstein” pleads guilty to manslaughter

PICAYUNE — A Kiln man known by his neighbors as “Frankenstein” pleaded guilty on Tuesday to the slaying of his wife.

Tuesday in in Hancock County Circuit Court James David Spiers was sentenced to 20 years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections for the slaying of his wife, Audrey Spiers. He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

District Attorney Chris Fisher said that had the case gone to trial, James Spiers would have faced the charge of murder, but the family decided to accept Spiers’ lesser charge.

The death of Audrey Spiers took place on Oct. 30, 2007, when the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department was called out to the couple’s home. There they found James Spiers laying on the ground next to Audrey Spiers. James Spiers told the responding officers that he didn’t mean to shoot his wife, according to repdorts by The Associated Press . The AP story states that James Spiers got the 12 gauge shot gun from his truck during an argument in which James Spiers and his wife were engaged.

That same AP story said that Spiers allegedly had been drinking that day since about lunch time and had a history of using methamphetamine. He also allegedly had a history of firing guns around the home, the AP story stated.

Fisher said Tuesday that Spiers received the maximum sentence for the charge of manslaughter, which is 20 years.