A 22-year-old Florida woman convicted of stabbing her mother to death over a relationship was sentenced last week to 30 years in prison, a month after a jury found her guilty of manslaughter.
The sentencing took place Thursday before Circuit Judge Charles Crawford at the Moore Justice Center in Viera. Jackalynn D’Auria had been convicted of the Oct. 24, 2020, stabbing of 36-year-old Amanda Ervin. D’Auria had claimed self-defense in the case.
A six-member jury acquitted D’Auria on a second-degree murder charge that could have led to her serving a life sentence in state prison instead.
“I’m grateful we were able to deliver justice on behalf of Amanda and her family. I hope they can find some solace in knowing that D’Auria couldn’t escape justice, and that every word spoken on behalf of Amanda was heard,” said Assistant State Attorney Samantha Barrett, who prosecuted the case in July.
The case began when Palm Bay police were called to a home in the 900 block of Canal Lane to investigate a disturbance. Witnesses told police that the mother had stepped into the garage earlier and found her daughter in the converted bedroom. The two argued and fought before the daughter took a knife and plunged it into her mother’s chest, court records show.
Police said D’Auria — who was 19 years old — then ran from the home. Ervin, who told witnesses before losing consciousness that her daughter stabbed her, was rushed to Palm Bay Community Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
D’Auria was arrested and booked into the Brevard County Jail. Detectives later determined that the confrontation between mother and daughter took place over D’Auria’s relationship with one of her mother’s friends.
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