Woman Pleads Guilty, Gets Life in Beating Death of Longview Man

GILMER — Another defendant in the case of a mentally disabled Longview man’s murder was sentenced Thursday in an Upshur County courtroom. KETK reports Sarah Haslam pleaded guilty to the murder of Ronnie Gammage in December 2012. She was sentenced to life in prison. The Upshur County District Attorney had planned to seek the death penalty for Haslam. Haslam was one of three defendants in the case and is the second to be sentenced. Another defendant, Daniel Jones, entered into a plea agreement in October 2013, and received a life sentence without an opportunity for parole. The third defendant, Andrew Norwine, is still in jail awaiting trial.

Gammage went missing early in December 2012. Authorities later released surveillance video from a local bank of a group of people attempting to cash a check from Gammage’s account. The public helped officials identify two of the people involved as Haslam and Jones. They were taken into custody for questioning and led authorities to the body of Gammage. According to probable cause arrest affadavits for Haslam and Jones, they reportedly slashed Gammage’s tires and convinced him to ride in Haslam’s car. They later beat him to death and burned his body.