Taiyana Tipton, one of the suspects in the 2002 death of Mya Fuller, pleaded guilty Tuesday.
Less than one week before a jury trial for first-degree premeditated murder, Tipton appeared in a courtroom before 15th Judicial District Criminal Court Judge Brody Kane for a readiness hearing. During the hearing, Tipton entered an open plea of guilty on all charges.
鈥淭his morning鈥檚 plea was not something that had been communicated to us whatsoever,鈥 District Attorney Jason Lawson said. 鈥淲e were prepared to go to trial next week and to achieve this same result at the hands of a jury.鈥
Tipton鈥檚 attorney completed a plea form and delivered it to the prosecutors, who decided to take a recess. During which, prosecutors discussed the development with the Fuller family. The family agreed to the plea, which had no reduction in time or an agreed upon sentence.
Judge Kane immediately sentenced Tipton two life sentences. One for the first degree premeditated murder charge, and the other for the felony first degree murder charge. A future hearing date was set in July for sentencing on kidnapping and abuse of a corpse charges.
鈥淎s the two life sentences were for the same victim, and simply different legal theories the prosecutors intended to present to the jury, those sentences will merge into a single life sentence,鈥 Lawson said.
According to Assistant District Attorney Tammy Meade, one day before Fuller鈥檚 murder, she and Tipton had a disagreement which turned into a confrontation the next night. Tipton placed Fuller in the trunk of her car, and drove her to Wilson County where she shot Fuller seven times on a piece of property being developed.
Wilson County Sheriff鈥檚 Office detectives found Fuller鈥檚 body and seven shell casings on Aug. 6, 2022. Over the next several months, Tipton was investigated as a suspect and ultimately arrested and charged along with her brother Ty鈥橲hawne Bowles and La鈥橫yra Pipkins.
鈥淭his investigation鈥檚 success was made possible through multi-agency collaboration across four counties, leading to the arrests in Mya Fuller鈥檚 tragic case,鈥 Scott Moore, Public Information Officer for WCSO, said. 鈥淲hile nothing can undo the loss her family has endured, this is the first step toward continued justice for Mya C. Fuller.鈥
Officials said the other two codefendants Bowles and Pipkins are still expected to go to trial, and the next hearing for them will be held Tuesday, May 6.
鈥淭oday was about getting justice for Mya,鈥 Lawson said. 鈥淚n my law enforcement career, this investigation ranks among the best I have ever seen. I cannot say enough about the work of the Wilson County Sheriff鈥檚 Department, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and the Metro-Davidson County Police Department. Particularly lead Detective Walker Woods and Detective Travis Donnell, their efforts are what solved this very difficult case.鈥
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