'I shoulder the blame every single day': Negligent Jacksonville mom sentenced

Nearly 50 supporters and detractors — about evenly split — of Amanda Guthrie emotionally spoke or submitted letters to the judge for the 37-year-old mother convicted of culpable negligence in her teen daughter's January 2021 death.

It was her gun that 14-year-old Ayva Guthrie was playing with when it fired while handing it back to her in their Jacksonville home. Guthrie and her defense team said it was a horrible accident and that the bullet ricocheted off the floor striking Ayva in the head. Prosecutors said it was because of a negligent, marijuana-smoking parent who admittedly was more focused on rolling a joint at the time.

Guthrie was charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child with a weapon or firearm, shooting deadly missiles and possession of more than 20 grams of cannabis while armed. On Aug. 19 jurors deliberated 10½ hours and opted for the lesser neglect charge and possession of less than 20 grams of cannabis, court records show.

Friday, Judge Lindsay Tygart took everything into consideration and sentenced Guthrie to four years and three months in prison. That will be followed by 24 months of probation and conditions that she forfeits any firearms and does not possess any weapons, refrains from using drugs and alcohol, submits to random urinalysis tests and undergoes task and mental health evaluations.

Beforehand defense attorney Richard Landis called a sentence of 51 months or more "unnecessary and overly punitive." Prosecutor Stacie French sought eight years.

In issuing the sentence, Tygart said every day she saw her courtroom full of people and “that there is no doubt in this court’s mind that Ayva Jane Guthrie was loved dearly and that she will be missed every day by everyone who knew her.”

Living with blame; seeking grace

Guthrie also tearfully addressed the judge and court during the hearing.

“I will never forget that horrific day that I lost my baby girl," she said. "Not a day goes by that I don’t remember the accident that led to never seeing her again. The deepest bond broken too soon. The accident that I shoulder the blame every single day. All I ever wanted to be is a mom. … We were inseparable.”

She wants those who were close to Ayva to understand “how very truly sorry I am for this accident. I will continue to live with this every day for the rest of my days.”

She reiterated “it was an isolated occurrence, a tragic, freak accident. … I regret that day every single moment.”

“The days I wake up hating myself are many. I live the worst possible nightmares," she said. "… Sometimes it just doesn’t feel worth fighting for. … But I can’t give up, too many people still need me.”

The letters pleading for compassion came from family, friends and several co-workers at Renna's Pizza where Guthrie was a manager. All described her as a loyal and loving mother and hard worker.

"She has lost her only daughter through her actions, and I know that she lives with this pain every day, from the moment she wakes until she falls into troubled sleep again each evening," her father, Howard Arner Jr., wrote. "She takes responsibility for this. She will carry this burden, this immense weight every day for the rest of her life and that pain will not ebb.

"Somehow, she has not let this crush her completely," he continued. "I know she feels the pain and shame every day and would do anything to undo what happened, but she cannot. I cannot imagine how she gets out of bed each day, but she does. I am proud that she can. I feel that the only thing keeping her together is being able to be with her remaining family so that we can love her and support her."

Guthrie's oldest sister, Patricia Moore, said she admittedly wondered if she was ready for parenthood once she learned she was pregnant. Guthrie had spent time with her children, baby-sitting and loving them, but she was young and this was going to be a huge change.

Instead, she "became Ayva's momma bear and the woman that we will forever adore for giving us our beautiful feisty Ayva Jane, the youngest grandchild in our family," her sister wrote. "I watched as Amanda grew from teenager to doting mommy, sacrificing her wants for Ayva's needs and her needs for Ayva's wants. Ayva was fiercely loved ... the center of Amanda's world and the absolute joy of her life."

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Even Ayva's best friend who lives four houses down, Alicia Nelson, wrote glowingly of her mother. She said she was always nice, welcoming, overprotective and came to all of Ayva's basketball and volleyball games. She called her an "amazing mother" who gave her good advice when she had problems.

"I miss Ayva a lot but I know Ms. Amanda is hurting she was so close to Ayva," Alicia wrote. "... Please forgive her. I can't lose her to I already lost my best friend."

Another family is angry and hurting

The 22 victim impact statements presented a less encouraging disposition. Ayva's father's side of the family also spoke in court, each emphasizing how this should never have happened and was entirely preventable.

Mary Kathryn Begier, Ayva’s father’s new wife, described how her death was on Aaron Begier's birthday and has utterly destroyed him.

“I’ve watched him suffer every day without her, and it’s heartbreaking to watch your husband depressed and broken," she said. "… I watched him sleep on the living room floor for six weeks holding her picture every night crying himself to sleep.”

Aaron Begier first read Ayva's grandfather Thomas Anthony Begier's statement.

“Our family and the world has lost an amazing person," he wrote. "The defendant has shown no remorse and has never reached out to our family or even a simple I’m sorry.”

Then Aaron Begier expressed what his first-born child meant to him.

“She taught me so many things about how to be her daddy," Begier said. "There’s just too many to list that she taught me. But the last thing she taught me after 14½ years of being on this physical planet was to say goodbye forever. ... For the last time on Jan. 20, 2021, I had to say goodbye. I told her I don’t know how I’m going to live without you, how to live life, go forward without my sweet and sassy girl. On that day, not only did Ayva die, but so did I. The old me is gone forever.”

He angrily noted that nobody called him about her being shot in the head: He found out on Facebook.

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“It has completely shattered me and my family.” He said he wakes up every day depressed, angry, sad and with no hope.

“There is an infinite amount of things my Ayva will never do," Begier continued. "But the one thing for sure she will never do is say, ‘I love you, Dad,’ and give me a hug.”

“Just remember that a selfish, negligent, cowardly act was made for all of this pain," he said. "It was 1,000% preventable.”

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Judge sentences negligent Jacksonville mom in teen daughter's death