NORTH CAROLINA MAN RECEIVES 15-YEAR PRISON SENTENCE FOR STABBING DEATH

A Winston-Salem, NC man received a 15-year prison sentence today after he admitted to stabbing his girlfriend to death at a local motel.

Ogden Bullard, 37, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter for the March 6, 2004 death of Kimberly J. Stokely, 33, of Spartanburg. Bullard will serve 85 percent of the prison sentence before he is eligible for release.

Spartanburg County sheriff’s deputies found Stokley’s body in room 238 of the Econo Lodge, 810 Hospitality Drive. She sustained injuries that were consistent with strangulation but the autopsy revealed that she bled to death after being left alone in the hotel room. After the attack, Bullard fled to his North Carolina home and he was arrested there the next day on a murder charge.

Bullard pleaded guilty the morning his case was set for trial.

Assistant Solicitor Jennifer Wells met with Stokely’s family on multiple occasions to discuss potential outcomes for the case. The Stokely family agreed with the decision to end the case with a voluntary manslaughter plea.

“A voluntary manslaughter plea allows the family to experience some closure without the stress of a trial,” Wells said. “I hope they can move forward in their recovery from this tragic loss.”