ROCK HILL, S.C. — Michael Donovan, 29, standing in handcuffs and leg irons, spoke to the family of the young woman he killed.
"Meth is a crazy drug," he said.
However, it was a heroin deal on May 9, 2018, that led to the shooting death of Gina Terry, 27.
Prosecutors said Terry and her boyfriend, Jesse Mericle, rode to an apartment on Farlow Street for a drug deal with two others -- Lori Marrs, and Chris Wright. They were going to trade heroin for some t-shirts and a watch.
Donovan, who was also there, came out of the apartment, held a gun inside Mericle's car, and began yelling.
Prosecutors read witness statements in court that said Terry tried to grab Donovan's gun away from him. She also had a gun of her own, which she pulled out and held. Donovan shot her in the face when she got out of the car and fled the scene.
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The emotions over what happened that night are still extremely raw for Terry's family. Her mother, Sheila Estes, spoke to Donovan first.
(Gina Terry)
"Michael, I know you will burn in hell for what you've done. You took away more than you will ever know from our family," Estes said.
She blamed herself for not doing more to help her daughter with her drug addiction, and also accused Mericle, her daughter's boyfriend, of leading her into drugs and changing her from the person she knew.
"He (Mericle) was the reason Gina wasn't Gina anymore," she said.
As family members watched in the courtroom, Mericle, who was also shot that night, said he wished Terry hadn't been with him. He slammed the plea deal that gave Donovan 17 years for voluntary manslaughter, saying it wasn't justice.
He mentioned one other regret about that night.
"I regret not getting that gun up quick enough and blowing his brains out, because I would have done it," he said.
Mericle said Terry gave her life to save him that night.
"Try living with that," he said. "Just try living with that."
Donovan apologized to the family, and repeatedly said he only intended to scare Gina Terry, but not kill her.
"I can't take back what happened, but I know I gotta deal with it the rest of my life," he said. "I feel very bad for what happened, and I hope they can find forgiveness."