Man pleads guilty to beating girlfriend to death inside Charlotte motel

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A man pleaded guilty Thursday morning to killing his girlfriend in a horrific case of domestic violence last summer at a Charlotte motel.

Channel 9's veteran crime reporter Glenn Counts was at the courthouse and spoke with members of Jameriane Ardrey’s family, who said they are heartbroken her killer will get a chance to get out of prison.

James Brewer, 42, walked into court Thursday prepared to accept a plea deal that could keep him in prison until he is 74 years old.

[RELATED: Man charged with killing girlfriend in Charlotte motel room]

Police said Ardrey, 40, was beaten to death and that her killer, Brewer, called 911 and made up a story about her overdosing.

(Brewer)

Officers went to the motel on Archdale Drive last June and determined that Ardrey had been severely beaten. Her eyes were shut and her windpipe had been crushed. No help had been called for at least 15 hours, according to investigators.

Her daughter, Jadesia Ardrey, is glad the case is over, but she wanted a stiffer penalty for Brewer.

"What did it feel like to sit up there and look at him knowing he did that to your mom?” Counts asked.

“I don't know. It didn't make me feel good,” she said. ”He didn't look. He didn't want to look out, look back or anything. He didn't say anything to us. He didn't apologize to our family or anything."

Brewer was sentenced to between 26 and 32 years in prison after accepting a second-degree murder plea deal.

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