JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – One year in jail is the sentence for a Jacksonville man who accidentally shot and killed his 20-year-old preschool teacher girlfriend in 2017.
Sean Lovins learned his sentence on Thursday for killing his girlfriend Aunesty Hite.
Lovins has served two years both in jail and on house arrest leading up to Thursday, and now he will serve one more year in jail for killing his girlfriend and then lying to police about it. The case was initially reported as a suicide.
Lovins came into court Thursday to learn his sentence as the family of Hite read statements to the judge about her death. Hite’s grandmother said the pain from her death has not gotten any easier in four-plus years.
“Your honor, it has been said that time heals all wounds. I do not agree. The wounds remain,” Deborah Stephens said.
When this case first happened Lovins told investigators that Hite had shot herself while he slept. That was until gunshot residue was found on his hands and eventually police determined the two had been playing with the gun prior to it going off. Lovins fired the fatal shot.
Hite’s mother also spoke Thursday. She had a prior face-to-face with Lovins because she wanted to hear from him that her daughter did not kill herself. In court, she read a letter to her daughter.
“I miss absolutely everything about you. Your goofy jokes, your affection, your hugs. Oh how I wish I would’ve hugged you the last day I saw you,” LeAnna Young said.
Lovins’ plea deal with prosecutors included a plea of guilty to manslaughter which is a lesser charge than the original second-degree murder charges initially filed.
Lovins will now spend another year in jail and be on probation for five years. But he could be out of it in two years if he follows all the rules.