The 21-year-old victim, Brooklyn Barrett, was remembered by loved ones as a ‘vibrant and promising young woman’
Amy Mills/GoFundMe
Brooklyn Barrett
A Utah woman accused of killing her friend earlier this year in a failed suicide pact has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter, authorities confirmed.
Heavenly Faith Garfield pleaded guilty to manslaughter, a second-degree felony, on Tuesday, September 24, and will be sentenced on November 6, Utah County Deputy Attorney Timothy L. Taylor said in an emailed statement to PEOPLE on Friday, September 7 September. 27. According to the statement, she faces a prison sentence of up to 15 years.
Garfield was arrested in April and charged with murder and discharging a firearm after the shooting of her 21-year-old friend, identified by family in a GoFundMe campaign and obituary as Brooklyn Michelle Barrett.
Related: 21-year-old Utah woman arrested for murder after shooting boyfriend during suicide pact
On April 30, Garfield’s father called 911 to report the shooting, with authorities saying his daughter shot the victim at a home in Saratoga Springs, Utah, according to an affidavit of probable cause cited by KUTV, the Associated Press and CBS News.
Officers who responded to the scene said the victim had a gunshot wound to the head, her body was covered with a blanket and there were flowers on a bed, Court TV reported.
courttv
Heavenly Faith Garfield
“Investigators have determined that Garfield and [her] A friend had made a suicide pact and Garfield admitted to the shooting [her] friend in the head,” Taylor said in the statement to PEOPLE. “After the shooting [her] Friend, Garfield has broken the suicide pact.”
According to the affidavit, the friends had reportedly been discussing the suicide pact for several weeks, family members said, the AP reported. The affidavit states that a friend of the victim showed police text messages in which she said she wanted to die but was too afraid to kill herself. According to the AP, the friend also confirmed Garfield’s suicide pact with the victim to police.
As part of her plea, Taylor said Garfield admitted the following facts: “On or about April 30, 2024, in Utah County, Utah, I knew that [friend] planned to end her life by suicide and I helped [friend] to commit suicide.”
Barrett was remembered during the GoFundMe campaign set up to support her parents in the aftermath of her death as a “vibrant and promising young woman.”
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“Her unexpected departure has left her loved ones grappling with the immense pain and burden, preferring to focus on honoring her memory and celebrating the beautiful life she lived,” the fundraiser continued.
According to her obituary, Barrett was a 2021 graduate of Herriman High School and worked at a daycare center before her death. She also enjoyed traveling and spending time outdoors, the obituary said.
Taylor said the victim’s family “supported the resolution.”
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling 988, text ‘STRENGTH’ to the Crisis Text Line on 741741 or visit 988lifeline.org.
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