Athens woman sentenced to 10 years for killing boyfriend
- Classic City News
- 2 hours ago
- 1 min read
By Joe Johnson
An Athens woman has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter for fatally shooting her boyfriend last year.
In exchange for her plea, 37-year-old Heather Nicole McCall on Monday received a sentence of four years in prison and six years on probation.
She also pleaded guilty to misdemeanor reckless conduct.
McCall was arrested in June 2024 after she shot and killed 31-year-old Jeremy Howard on Nowhere Road.
According the Athens-Clarke County Police Department, McCall and Howard had formerly been in a romantic relationship that involved domestic violence.
After the shooting McCall explained to police that her landlord had told Howard to stay away the home because he had previously beaten her.
When Howard showed up unexpectedly, McCall told police, she grabbed a gun from her roommate’s bedroom and, while screaming at the victim, she “tensed up and the gun went off.”
McCall said that she hadn’t even realized that her finger was on the trigger, according to police.
A man who was at the house visiting, told police that when the pair began to argue he went outside to give them space
Soon afterwards, the witness said, a single gunshot rang out and Howard came out the front door clutching his stomach, and he collapsed to the ground.
McCall came out right behind him, according to the witness, and she applied pressure to the gunshot wound in an effort to staunch the bleeding.
Howard was transported by ambulance to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
