The last defendant accused in the fatal stabbing of Billy Lawson has pleaded guilty for his role in the 2019 murder.
Jordan Lee Miracle, 26, of Williamsburg appeared in Whitley Circuit Court on Monday — pleading guilty to murder, first-degree robbery and tampering with physical evidence in the Lawson case as well as attempting to escape from penitentiary and three counts of kidnapping an adult in connection to an unsuccessful escape attempt last year from the Whitley County Detention Center.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Ronnie Bowling said he is recommending a 65-year sentence for Miracle, who is now scheduled to be formally sentenced on July 3 rather than face a July 10 trial.
Miracle’s plea came as his co-defendants — 31-year-old twins James Larry Muse and Jamie Cleg Muse, both of Williamsburg — were also in court Monday after changing their pleas in March.
The three men were charged after Lawson’s body was found with multiple stab wounds in a building off US 25 near the Kentucky-Tennessee state line in February 2019.
The Muse brothers were arrested first when a vehicle belonging to Jamie was towed and those towing the vehicle found blood and a kitchen knife in the back seat.
Upon further investigation, Miracle was also identified as a suspect with the grand jury indicting all three that March.
Like Miracle, Jamie Muse pleaded guilty as charged to murder, first-degree robbery and tampering with physical evidence. He was sentenced to 60 years in state prison.
His sentence included a separate charge of first-degree criminal mischief and he faces new charges of promoting contraband, bribery of a public servant, and trafficking in controlled substances in connection to a joint investigation last month by WCDC and the Whitley County Sheriff’s Office.
Bowling recommended a 15-year sentence for James Muse, whose charges had been amended down to facilitation of each of those crimes. The prosecutor explained that James Muse had served as the “getaway driver” in the homicide.
All three defendants remain lodged at WCDC.