Jennings Sentenced in West Valley Killing

The jury's finding already lowered this from murder to manslaughter. That finding is not an acquittal, and it did not require probation. Houston is dead. The prison term is the judgment on the count the jury returned.

Third District Judge Theresa Welch on Tuesday sentenced Deon Jennings to one to 15 years in prison for manslaughter in the death of Willie Houston. She recommended credit for 1,659 days he has already spent in the Salt Lake County jail.

A jury on Aug. 29 found that prosecutors had not proved Jennings did not believe he was defending himself. That finding reduced the conviction from murder to manslaughter. His lawyer asked Welch to reduce the charge again and to grant probation. Welch refused both. She said the harm called for prison.

Houston, 59, was stabbed on April 30, 2022, at the Aspenwood Apartments in West Valley City and died at a hospital. Charging documents say he told a neighbor his nephew had done it, and that Jennings later told police the two had been drinking and argued. Houston's daughter, Amber Houston, asked the judge for a prison sentence.