WWE Hall of Famer Tammy Sytch pleads no contest in fatal DUI crash, faces 25 years in prison

WWE Hall of Famer Tammy "Sunny" Sytch pleaded no contest Wednesday to a charge of driving under the influence and causing the death of another person plus other charges in a fatal crash and could face up to 25 1/2 years in prison when she is sentenced Nov. 27.

Sytch, 50, had entered a plea of not guilty on May 31, 2022, to the same charges stemming from a deadly traffic crash in Ormond Beach. She changed that plea Wednesday as part of an agreement with prosecutors.

Ormond Beach police said on March 25, 2022, Sytch's vehicle crashed into the back of a stopped car at the intersection of U.S. 1 and Granada Boulevard, leading to the death of Julian LaFrancis Lasseter, 75.

Sytch has been held without bond on pre-trial detention at the Volusia County Branch Jail since May 13, 2022.

Sytch, wearing the customary orange jail jumpsuit, was led into court and took a seat in front of the defense table. Her hands were cuffed as is also routine during inmates' court appearances. Sytch smiled several times as she spoke to her attorneys before the start of the hearing.

When her name was called, she stood with her lawyers in front of Circuit Judge Karen Foxman, who asked what her plea was.

Sytch said "no contest."

The judge asked a number of routine questions as part of the plea hearing. In response, Sytch said she had almost graduated from college. In response to another question, Sytch said she had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, borderline personality disorder, and bipolar disorder. She said among the medications she was taking was Prozac, an antidepressant.

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At the time of the accident, Sytch had a blood alcohol content of .280, which is 3 1/2 times the legal limit of .08 set by Florida law, police said.

Police also found an unsealed bottle of vodka in her car.

A test also detected THC in Sytch’s blood, indicating she had been using marijuana sometime before the crash, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

In addition to DUI causing death, Sytch was charged with one count of driving with a suspended revoked license causing death/serious injury. The first charge is a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison while the suspended driving charge is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

That would mean up to 20 years in prison. But Assistant State Attorney Ashley Terwilleger said during the hearing that she would be arguing that new case law sets a maximum prison sentence of just over 10 years on the second-degree felony which would make the possible maximum total penalty just over 25 years.

Sytch was also charged with four counts of DUI with "damage to person," and two counts of DUI with damage to property. Each of the six counts is a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 364 days in the county jail. As part of the agreement, Sytch would be sentenced to time served on those six counts and the sentences would run concurrently.

Sentencing guidelines set the lowest prison sentence for Sytch at 10 1/2 years.

One of the charges also carries a four-year minimum sentence.

Sytch has multiple prior charges of driving under the influence and driving with a suspended license in Pennsylvania. She has never held a valid Florida driver's license.

Assistant Public Defenders Jessica Lindsey Roberts and Larry Avallone represented Sytch. Roberts said during the hearing that she planned to call one or possibly two experts to testify on behalf of Sytch at the sentencing.

Roberts also said she would file a motion arguing why Sytch should receive a lower sentence than listed by the sentencing guidelines.

Outside the courtroom after the hearing, Lasseter's family and friends embraced Terwilleger.

Family members declined to comment to a News-Journal reporter.

But one of Lasseter's friends, Lori Sharlow, said that Sytch was a threat to the public and she hoped that she would be kept off the streets.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: WWE Hall of Famer Tammy 'Sunny' Sytch pleads no contest in fatal crash