CHESTER COUNTY, S.C. — A woman accused of beating and killing a beloved grandmother in Chester County has taken a plea deal Monday.
Back in August 2021, authorities said Linda Robinson's body was found on the side of the road in Chester County. Deputies eventually charged a pair of suspects with her murder.
Two years ago, the Chester County Sheriff's Office said Amber Nicole Harris of Chester, South Carolina, and George "Si" Linward Faile of Lancaster, South Carolina, both had warrants filed against them, charging them with the murder of 63-year-old Linda Welch Robinson from Fairfield County. Deputies say they already had Harris in custody, and then, a little later, Faile was arrested.
In court on Monday, Harris took a plea deal, reducing her charge from murder to voluntary manslaughter and carjacking. Officials said this deal comes with a 30-year maximum sentence for each charge or 60 years total.
Robinson's family showed no remorse during the plea deal. They said they wished the death penalty was an option and questioned how she could do this to their loved one.
“I hope she never sees the daylight," a family member said.
Meanwhile, the defendant's attorney said Harris had no intent to kill Robinson, adding she had several drugs in her system the day of the incident, and she was remorseful.
“She made a mistake," the defense attorney said.
“You were high on dope; you weren’t thinking straight and you took the life out of the centerpiece of this beautiful family," the judge said before giving the defendant's sentence. "I have no sympathy for you."
According to the warrants released by the sheriff's office, Harris told them they stole the blue Honda Odyssey minivan, which they were seen in during a probation appointment just hours after Robinson was found dead on Monday. The warrants also revealed Robinson suffered trauma to her head and face.
Prior to the announcement from deputies, WCNC Charlotte spoke with Linda Robinson's family, who shared their heartbreak after learning about her death.
"She’d give you the shirt off her back if you needed it," her daughter, Angela Robinson, said. "I watched her take the last $5 out of her pocket two weeks ago to give it to a charity because they needed it.”
Deputies were called to an area along Carpenter Road, just off Highway 72, around 11:40 a.m. after a caller said they found a dead woman on the side of the road.
Deputies said Robinson was last seen at the Walmart on the J.A. Cochran Bypass in Chester on Monday morning. Later that night, investigators found Robinson's minivan abandoned on James F. Wherry Road in northern Chester County.
Robinson's family said she raised seven children and had been married for more than four decades. In fact, she was in Chester County that day to run errands for her family and made the trip often from Fairfield County.
Harris received credit for the 770 days she's already spent in jail.
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