DARKE COUNTY, Ohio (Court TV) — An Ohio man avoided a potential life sentence by pleading guilty to a lesser charge on the day his murder trial was scheduled to begin.
Zachery Gilbert addresses the Court at his sentencing on Feb. 2, 2026. (Court TV)
Last year, Zachery Gilbert pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter with a gun specification. He was initially charged with murder and tampering with evidence in the Sept. 26, 2024, death of Brianne Otley, 34.
Officers responded to the scene after reports of a female being shot, according to a press release. Otley was pronounced dead at the scene. Gilbert, who allegedly fled the area, was located several blocks away two hours after the 911 call was placed.
According to an arrest affidavit, Gilbert was described as being in an “on/off romantic relationship” with Otley. After being arrested and Mirandized, Gilbert “admitted to having his finger on the trigger when the gun was fired inside the bedroom … striking the victim.” He also admitted to consuming alcohol “in the few hours before the shot occurred.” During an argument with Otley, Gilbert said “he was suicidal due to his [belief] the victim was seeing another subject romantically.” Gilbert told police he had thrown the weapon in a trash bin. It was later recovered.
Gilbert had opted for a bench trial, meaning a judge, rather than a jury, would decide his fate. But on the day the trial was supposed to begin, he changed his plea, which upset the victim’s family.
“I am 200% against this plea,” Michelle Otley, Brianne Otley’s mother, told the court. “There is proof after proof after proof that this man is guilty. There’s even proof his mother’s guilty, but she’s not on trial.”
On Monday, Gilbert was sentenced to 14 to 19.5 years in prison. Otley’s family delivered emotional victim impact statements, saying they felt the plea agreement failed the interests of justice.
“It should have been me, it shouldn’t have been her,” Gilbert said at his sentencing. “I loved her with every piece of my heart and soul and everything. If I could go back and change it, I would.”
Otley was a single mother of three, according to her obituary.
