An Oklahoma woman has pleaded guilty to murdering her ex-roommate over food stamps and trying to set fire to both the victim and her home in an attempt to destroy the evidence.

According to Oxygen, Jessica Lavon McBride, 30, confessed to killing Tracy Elaine Russell on March 17, 2019. She pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and attempt to commit arson.

The Department of Justice said Friday that Russel had allowed the suspect and her boyfriend to live at her residence in Tulsa "in exchange for assistance with groceries."

But in a plea agreement, McBride said she killed her ex-roommate after a heated argument that began when she accused Russell of stealing her food stamps. Because of this, Russell asked McBride and her partner to leave home.

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Oklahoma Woman Kills Her Ex-Roommate Over Food Stamps

The plea agreement noted that the Oklahoma woman's statement that she killed her ex-roommate because she stole her food stamps was "never substantiated."

According to the criminal complaint, Jessica Lavon McBride returned to Tracy Elaine Russell's home three days after being kicked out of the house to collect her purse and other belongings. 

The Oklahoma woman said she became "angered" when the victim denied having her purse, which prompted the suspect to put Russell in a 10-second rear chokehold that resulted in her death.

McBride told investigators that she returned the next day to cover Russell's body in a blanket and to destroy the evidence by "lighting two corners of the blanket on fire before leaving the house. According to Law and Crime, McBride made a second attempt to burn the victim's body and home on March 19, 2019.

The defendant allegedly texted one of her friends to help her do it and told her she had already bought some cap fuel and that they had to "do it tonight," according to the arrest affidavit filed by law enforcement.

However, the friend reported the incident to police on March 20, 2019, instead of assisting the suspect. The friend became a "confidential source." Police caught her in the act during her second attempt to burn the victim's body.

The plea agreement said the Oklahoma woman agreed to a maximum sentence partly because the government agreed to a voluntary manslaughter conviction rather than murder in the second-degree conviction.

McBride was initially indicted on charges of second-degree murder, arson, attempted arson, and attempting to alter, destroy, mutilate, and destroy evidence.

Prosecutors then dropped most of the charges in exchange for the two guilty pleas. The defendant can withdraw the plea agreement if a federal judge does not accept it.

Oklahoma Woman Admits Killing Her Ex-Roommate

Tulsa Police noted that Tracy Elaine Russell was killed inside her home near 46th Street North and Peoria. Officials noted that they received information about a possible homicide case in the area.

When the police arrived, they found a lifeless woman with McBride outside the house with camp fuel in her hand, News on 6 reported. Police said Jessica Lavon McBride had admitted that she strangled the victim a few days after they got in an argument.

Tulsa Police Officer Jeanne Pierce said McBride confessed to strangling the victim after they argued. She then told police that it was her second attempt to destroy the evidence.

Pierce noted that the Oklahoma woman initially tried to burn the body, but it did not burn completely, prompting the suspect to go back and buy lighter fluid to do it again. The Tulsa police officer said it could have been a cold case if the confidential source did not tell the officers about the homicide.

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This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

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