Magen Fieramuska pleaded guilty to the murder of Austin’s mother, Heidi Broussard.

Austin, Texas – Magen Fieramuska, the woman accused of killing Austin’s mother Heidi Broussard and kidnapping her child in 2019, has pleaded guilty.

Fieramuska, 37, was sentenced to 55 years in prison and, as part of a guilty plea, she waived her right to appeal, the Travis County District Attorney’s office said.

Her capital murder charge was also reduced to first-degree murder as part of a plea deal.

“We hope this result will bring some relief to the Broussard and Carey families and help them continue their recovery process,” District Attorney Jose Garza said. “This result will save families from having to go through a complicated legal process after sentencing. We are grateful to our prosecutors and law enforcement partners who worked tirelessly on this case and brought justice to the victims’ families and our community.”

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Fieramuska and her longtime girlfriend, 33-year-old Heidi Broussard, were both pregnant at the same time. Although the authorities have not confirmed if Fieramuska ever existed. Investigators called her motive for the kidnapping and murder “maternal desire”.

Addressing the court on Thursday, Heidi Broussard’s mother Tammy Broussard said: “She is forever strong in the midst of all the lives of the people she has touched. And she will live forever.”

“This is something I never imagined in my entire life, me and my husband,” she added. “She was so fun and full of life, and now that has been taken away from her.”

According to Austin police, Fieramuska visited Broussard and her 3-week-old daughter Margo at their South Austin apartment and strangled Broussard with a dog leash. She put Broussard’s body in the trunk of her car and drove to her ex-boyfriend’s house in the Houston area, where she tried to pass Margo off as their daughter.

“I think it is difficult, if not impossible, to find justice and any solution to this terrible crime. Miss Fyaramushka, the fact is that by your actions you have deprived an innocent child, an innocent baby, of the opportunity to grow up. with her mother by her side,” Judge Selena Alvarenga said.

“You destroyed an entire family. And whatever the sentence, no matter how long, no matter how severe, nothing can change that, nothing can make this family united again,” Judge Alvarenga added.

A plea deal occurs after a motion to suppress evidence has been filed. Lawyers raised the question of whether the evidence gathered during the search of Fieramuska’s boyfriend’s home was admissible. The warrant was not signed for more than eight hours after the officers entered the house and began searching. During this search, the officers found Margot unharmed and the body of Broussard.

“Heidi’s hugs were strong, full of love. They persisted in the atmosphere. I still feel them now. She loved immensely and never gave up anywhere. I ask what would Heidi do? It comforts me,” said Tammy Broussard.