Convicted murderer gets final sentence

Feb. 15—CATLETTSBURG — An Ashland man heard from the family members of the woman he brutally stabbed prior to his final sentence on Thursday.

The body of 29-year-old Ericka Spradlin was found in a residential yard in the 400 block of Marcia Street in January 2019 and investigators quickly tracked down and arrested Jason D. Blevins, 41, in connection to her homicide.

Michelle Miller, Spradlin's mother, said she can never shake the memory of receiving the phone call notifying her of her daughter's death.

"My whole world shattered," Miller said, just steps away from Blevins seated at the defense table.

Miller said within that phone call, she was told her daughter's death was a result of a murder by "the very monster who is sitting here to be sentenced today," Miller said, referencing Blevins.

"It has not gotten any easier since," Miller added, describing the young mother of two as funny, kind and a lover of music.

Miller said Spradlin's children, just 12 and 8 at the time of her murder, will never have a mother by their sides during major milestones, including sports games, prom, graduation, marriages and their first children.

"Ericka will never be able to watch her children grow up ... because of your actions.

"... I have dug deep and I have tried to forgive you, but I cannot and will never forgive you. You took my beautiful baby girl from me, her children and her family," Miller said.

Blevins pleaded guilty to a sole count of domestic violence murder in December after a mediation between attorneys led to a plea agreement a month before Blevins was due to face a jury trial.

In exchange for his admission, prosecutors suggested a 28-year prison sentence.

"I truly hate you for this," Miller continued. "Today you are being sentenced to 28 years in prison. It may seem like a long time to you, but that doesn't amount to the time that we will have to spend without our precious Ericka."

"Know that you are there because you murdered my daughter," Miller said of Blevins's prison stay before adding he didn't "deserve the air he breathed."

Nancy Williams, Spradlin's grandmother, followed Miller's emotion-filled statement. Williams said that becoming a grandparent is one's greatest blessing, but after Spradlin's murder, it became her "biggest heartache."

Spradlin's children, Christopher and Isabelle, also addressed Blevins.

Spradlin's son, now 17, said for five years he watched his family suffer, adding from the age of 12, he's blamed himself for the loss of his mother.

"I spent so long blaming myself for the actions of another man because what son can not protect his mom?" he asked.

"I could not stop someone so weak and so full of themselves that they would take something that was not theirs," he continued, adding Spradlin deserved the best from a world that had only kicked her down.

Spradlin's daughter requested Boyd County Commonwealth's Attorney Rhonda Copley read her statement, as she was overcome with emotion.

"At 8 years old, I had to accept the fact that I will never see or speak to her again," Copley read on behalf of Isabelle. "When I visit my family the first words they say to me is how much I look like my mother.

"... I hate those words. I don't want my family to see her in me," the statement included, adding Spradlin's daughter felt she was "stuck being the one that reminds people every day that she is forever gone."

Copley read the eighth-grader hoped Blevins looked at her on Thursday to recall who he murdered. "I hope my words haunt you and stab you like a knife."

Blevins's attorney, John Thompson, said, out of respect for the family, Blevins did not wish to give any statements.

However, Thompson requested the court take "judicial notice" of Blevins's completion of classes while incarcerated.

Boyd Circuit Judge John Vincent upheld the 28-year active prison sentence, as the family and investigative agencies approved.

Spradlin's mother told Blevins he may feel as though he's faced his day of judgment, but she believes he still hasn't met his final sentence.

"God will have his day and, oh, what a day that will be," Miller choked.

Blevins will be 69 years old upon his projected release.

(606) 326-2652 — mjepling@dailyindependent.com