John Douglas White pleads guilty for murder of Rebekah Jane Gay
John Douglas White, 55, will spend a minimum of 45.8 years in prison after pleading guilty Thursday for the Oct. 31 murder of Rebekah Jane Gay.
White pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Thursday afternoon in Isabella County Trial Court for the murder of Gay, according to court records.
Second-degree murder is a felony offense punishable by life or any term of years that is set by the court.
“The plea agreement included a stipulated sentence requiring White’s minimum sentence to be no less than 45.8 years in prison,” Isabella County Prosecutor Risa Scully said in a news release.
A plea agreement was made between both sides, bringing the original charge of homicide murder in the first degree premeditated to second-degree murder and as a habitual third offender.
The plea was submitted before Judge Paul Chamberlain, which was then accepted by the court.
Since the guilty plea, White’s bond has been cancelled, and he will be sentenced April 18 at 2 p.m. by Chamberlain.
White had originally filed to have his confession taken off the record and not used as evidence in a motion hearing today but instead pleaded guilty.
White’s trial was scheduled for May prior to his guilty plea, though he also waived the preliminary examination beforehand after it had been pushed back.
White allegedly murdered Gay on Oct. 31 in her Broomfield Township mobile home, 3303 S. Coldwater Road. A self-described pastor, White was engaged to Gay’s mother and often babysat Gay’s three-year-old son.
After confessing to the murder, White blamed it on a two-week sexual fantasy he had to kill Gay and have sex with her dead body. He told the police he did not remember carrying out his fantasy because he drank four or five beers before going to Gay’s home.
Gay’s body was discovered in a stand of pine trees on Coldwater Road, and the mallet and bloody towels used were discovered off of Pickard Road near Woodruff Road.
According to the Associated Press, White has two prior convictions, one for manslaughter in Kalamazoo County and another for attacking a young woman in Calhoun County. He was released from prison in 2008.
