Husband who killed Orange County wife sentenced to life in prison
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. –Lamar Bryant has been sentenced to life in prison for fatally shooting his wife, Takeshia Eads bringing long-awaited closure to her family after her daughter delivered emotional testimony in court.
Inside an Orange County courtroom Thursday, the oldest daughter of Takeisha Eads shared the devastating reality of losing the person she turned to for everything.
“I miss being her daughter. I miss being able to go to her and say, ‘Mama, I don’t know what to do,’” Cordeja Paige said during the sentencing hearing for her mother’s killer.
More than a year after Eads was fatally shot multiple times inside her home along West Livingston Street, her husband, Lamar Bryant, was sentenced to life in prison, with a 25-year minimum mandatory term.
The sentencing marks the final chapter in a tragedy that Paige has carried since the day it happened. In the immediate aftermath of the shooting last year, she spoke with News 6 about the traumatic moments she desperately tried to save her mother’s life.
“I did CPR on my mama. I put my hands up on mama’s chest trying to save her,” Paige said at the time.
During the hearing, Bryant pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, hoping the plea would result in a lighter sentence. His own mother, Avis Ellis, also addressed the court to ask for leniency.
“Your Honor, I humbly ask that you consider imposing the lowest sentence permitted by law,” Ellis said. “I ask that you leave room for hope, rehabilitation, and the possibility of redemption.”
The judge rejected the plea for mercy and handed down the life sentence. In addition to the murder charge, Bryant also pleaded guilty in a separate case to fleeing to elude law enforcement.
For Paige and her family, the ruling brought the closure they had been waiting for.
“We came, we saw, we conquered, and that’s all,” Paige said in court following the decision.
Deputies at the time described Eads’ death as a “domestic shooting.”
Bryant was convicted of second-degree murder for Eads’ death.
Eads was a mother of four and a grandmother of five.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.