News

Woman, 39, convicted in Laurel Park stabbing death

By Lightning Reports, Published: January 29, 2025

A 39-year-old woman was sentenced to up to 13 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the stabbing death of Robin Arnold Bracken, 58, on Jan. 7, 2024,  District Attorney R. Andrew Murray announced.

According to the investigation and court trial records, Vanessa Annalee Ledbetter was in a turbulent relationship with Bracken for some time before the stabbing occurred, the D.A.,'s office said in a news release.

EMS and the Laurel Park Police Department responded to 16 Lake Drive after a neighbor called 911. Upon arriving, first responders found Bracken lying in a common area outside the couple’s apartment, unresponsive and bleeding from his midsection. An investigation revealed he had been stabbed in the back in the bathroom of their shared apartment and had staggered out to the common area, asking for help before dying from the stab wounds.

Although neighbors described how Ledbetter and Bracken had been involved in a tumultuous and unhealthy relationship, the investigation revealed that Bracken was not armed and that no physical assault of Ledbetter had occurred when the stabbing took place, Murray said in a news release. Ledbetter admitted to stabbing Bracken because she was scared and afraid of him, court testimony showed.

Superior Court Judge William Stetzer sentenced Ledbetter to a minimum term of 10 years four months and a maximum term of 13 years five months in state prison.