Houston Murder-For-Hire Case: Mistress Gets 20 Year Sentence
The mistress of Houston lawyer Jeffrey Stern was given a 20 year prison sentence today in exchange for pleading guilty to three attempts to kill her lover's wife.
The judge agreed to the deal despite the objections of Yvonne Stern, the woman who was shot in the stomach in the final effort to have her killed.
Michelle Gaiser, 39, pleaded guilty to solicitation of capital murder for the 2010 attempts to kill Yvonne Stern, 54. Gaiser claimed to have plotted the murders with Jeffrey Stern, but earlier this week prosecutors dropped all charges against Jeffrey Stern because Gaiser's claims could not be corroborated.
Yvonne Stern, who has since reconciled with her husband, took the stand today, urging the judge to not accept the deal and stating that Gaiser should be sentenced to 40 years in prison for the three attempts on her life.
"It is near impossible for me to put into words the pain and suffering this animal has caused me and my family," Yvette Stern said in court Friday. "I have suffered for two years due to this animal and remain scarred for life.
"It is clear that this monster is very unstable and she should spend the rest of her existence behind bars where she cannot attempt to kill anyone else," she said.
Yvonne Stern's attorney, Chip Lewis, told ABC News affiliate KTRK that she is not happy about the deal.
"Mrs. Stern feels further victimized by [Harris County District Attorney] Pat Lykos' crooked deal. ADA Kari Allen assured Mrs. Stern that she would not offer Gaiser anything less than 40 years in prison," he said.
Gaiser must serve at least half before being eligible for parole, and with credit for time served she will be eligible in about eight years.
In exchange for her guilty plea and cooperation with the government, prosecutors had initially agreed to reduce her possible life sentence to a maximum of 25 years in prison.
The status of Gaiser's previous deal was questioned after Tuesday's announcement that charges were dropped against 55-year-old Jeffrey Stern.
Last month, Stern's attorneys held a press conference to state they had information that Gaiser was trying to have Jeffrey Stern killed from behind bars. Nugent read from a jailhouse letter Gaiser allegedly wrote in which the attorney said she ordered a hit on Stern.
"Michelle Gaiser -- from her jail cell -- has plotted yet another murder," Nugent said. "She has solicited an inmate to murder Jeffrey Stern for $ 20,000."
Nugent said Gaiser wrote that the hit should happen near the Sterns' vacation home in Aspen. According to Nugent, the letter also said that if Stern was killed near the Aspen residence, "people will think the wife did the planning to kill him as revenge."
Nugent said he turned the note over to the district attorney, who declined to bring Gaiser up on any new charges. Prosecutors originally alleged that Stern, a prominent Houston lawyer, and his former mistress planned three failed attempts to kill Yvonne Stern. In the third alleged attempt on her life in May 2010 she was shot in the stomach while sitting in her car.
Since the shooting Yvonne Stern has launched a civil suit against Gaiser.
Jeffrey Stern Case: Three Attempts on Yvonne Stern's Life
Yvonne Stern initially filed for divorce after learning of her husband's infidelity, but took him back. She has said she does not believe he was responsible for the attempts on her life.
She told ABC News that the sloppiness of the attempts to murder her made her confident that her husband could not have been involved.
"Is this the plot of a mastermind? My husband is brilliant. He's smart. He's talented. He would never be capable of doing such a terrible job," she said.
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