The South Windsor man convicted of killing his wife in 2021 was sentenced Tuesday to 27 years in prison.
Tahj Hutchinson pleaded guilty to charges including first-degree manslaughter, risk of injury to a minor, and tampering with evidence. He was facing a maximum sentence of 30 years.
He admitted to killing his wife, Jessica Edwards, in May 2021 following an argument after Mother’s Day. Edwards was missing for 11 days until her body was found in a wooded area of East Hartford.
Hutchinson initially told police she went out with friends and never returned home.
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The warrant states Hutchinson knelt on Edwards’ neck and back until she stopped moving.
"Even after her stopping that movement, he continued to apply pressure so her lungs could not breathe, taking the life literally from her,” a state prosecutor said.
He then left her body on the floor of their home, the warrant states, while he tended to the couple’s 7-month-old child.
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"How can someone who loved my sister do such a cruel act in front of her young son,” Mario Edwards, the victim’s brother, stated in court.
According to the warrant, Edwards’ sister found divorce papers in the couple’s home that Edwards had filled out but hadn’t filed.
“I feel like he got away with it,” said Edwards’ sister, Yanique. “We wanted justice, so this doesn’t happen again, and for people at home to know it’s never OK, domestic violence is never OK. Taking someone’s life is never OK. Then a plea deal comes into play it’s like, is it OK? It’s sad. But we tried.”
Her family and friends gave emotional victim impact statements before the sentencing. Edwards’ mother was so overcome with emotion that another loved one had to finish her statement.
"Jessica was loved, and even though you didn't love her, we did,” her mom tearfully said.
The family wanted Hutchinson sentenced to more than 30 years and felt the plea deal was disappointing.
“It’s disappointing. Like a slap in the face. But if this is what they call justice, I guess we have to just take it,” Yanique Edwards added. “30 years. I guess that’s what a life is worth.”
The family is now raising the couple’s son, who is now 4.
“We go to the cemetery all the time, we talk about her, we show pictures. Just trying my best to keep her alive in him,” Edwards’ sister added. “[I] just dread the fact that one day we’re gonna have to tell him what really happened.”
During the sentencing, Hutchinson apologized to the Edwards family and his own, saying he’ll always feel guilt and sorrow.
“This was not intentional. This was not planned or premeditated,” his defense attorney said. “There was an argument that day that regrettably got out of hand."
