Life prison sentence for Wichita woman who decapitated ex-boyfriend’s mom in 2017
A Wichita woman who decapitated her ex-boyfriend’s mother with a pair of kitchen knives then left her severed head in the kitchen sink will spend life in prison.
Rachael Hilyard, 38, was sentenced Tuesday in Sedgwick County District Court for the first-degree murder of 63-year-old Micki Davis, who was beheaded after she went to Hilyard’s home at 1426 W. Rita to pick up some of her son’s property on April 9, 2017.
Prosecutors argued at Hilyard’s trial that she planned to kill Davis. Hilyard, meanwhile, claimed that Davis fell during a struggle over a painting and that she carried out the decapitation because she thought Davis was dead, and she wanted to release her soul from her body. She told police who questioned her about the killing: “God was telling me to do it.”
Davis’ 9-year-old grandson accompanied her to Hilyard’s home that day and ran for help after the attack started. He did not witness his grandmother’s death.
Hilyard suffers from a mental illness, which her defense attorney, Quentin Pittman, said in court Tuesday led a medical expert to determine she was insane but not to a level that might allow her to use that as a defense in court. Her competency was in question at multiple points leading up to her trial.
A jury convicted Hilyard of first-degree murder in February. She must serve 50 years in prison before she is eligible for parole.
In calling for the maximum sentence, Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said: “This case speaks for itself.”
“Mom didn’t deserve to die the way she did,” Jeremy Rush said in court, adding that Davis was one of the “nicest, sweetest people on earth.”
“She would give the shirt off her back for anyone in need,” another family member told the judge.
“I hate this monster,” Rush said, referring to Hilyard, “and I think my mom would be OK with that.”
Hilyard’s attorney offered apologies to Davis’ family, several of whom attended court in person or watched virtually via a Zoom call.
“There are no words that make this better,” Pittman said.
When it was Hilyard’s turn to speak, she bounced between apologizing and disjointed rambling about why she committed the crime.
“I feel that even death would be too good for me now. … Every day and every night I am sorry,” she said.
Before handing down the sentence, Judge Bruce Brown called the murder “horrific.”
“This case and the actions taken — I lack words for,” he said.
He urged Hilyard to “turn your life to a life of good” and told her to honor Davis’ death going forward.
”You can’t make up for it. But you’re at a turning point,” he said.
This story was originally published September 29, 2020 at 5:04 PM.
