Texas Woman Sentenced to 55 Years for Strangling Best Friend Then Stealing Her Newborn Girl

Magen Fieramusca, 37, waived her right to an appeal in connection with the 2019 death of Austin mom Heidi Broussard

Magen Fieramusca and Heidi Broussard.

A Texas woman is starting a 55-year jail sentence for murdering her best friend and kidnapping her newborn.

On Thursday, Magen Fieramusca, 37, waived her right to an appeal and pleaded guilty to the 2019 killing of Heidi Broussard, 33, in an Austin courtroom.

Fieramusca was initially charged with capital murder, with the likelihood that she would face life in prison without parole. Her plea means she will be eligible for parole after serving roughly half of her 55-year sentence. She will also receive credit for the three years she served prior to her plea.

"We are hopeful that this outcome will bring some closure to the Broussard and Carey families and help them continue their healing process," Travis County District Attorney José Garza said in a statement Thursday.

"This outcome will save the families from having to endure the difficult post-conviction litigation process," Garza added. "We are grateful to our prosecutors and law enforcement partners who worked tirelessly on this case and secured justice for the victim's families and our community."

Magen Fieramusca pleads guilty to first degree murder. KPRC 2 Click2Houston

Fieramusca's conviction comes a little over three years after Broussard disappeared from her Austin home. The mother of two had just given birth to her daughter Margot, when she was reported missing from the apartment she shared with her fiancé, Shane Carey, on Dec. 12, 2019. Broussard was also the mother of a 6-year-old son.

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An intense and highly publicized search for Broussard led police to Fieramusca's home in northwest Harris County, near Houston, where investigators found Broussard's body in a duffel bag in the trunk of her car in the driveway. An autopsy later revealed she had been strangled to death with a dog leash, police said.

Thankfully, Margot was found safe and returned to her father.

Fieramusca was later arrested and charged with capital murder and tampering with a corpse. She was also initially charged with kidnapping 3-week-old Margot and claiming her as her own.

Speaking after the arrest, family friend Vickie Shreves told PEOPLE that Fieramusca pretended to be pregnant at the same time as Broussard. Shreves added that she also showed up in the hospital to hold Broussard's hand while she was in labor, but grew increasingly somber and left when the baby was born without saying goodbye.

Broussard's mother, Tammy Broussard, also told PEOPLE that she didn't know why Fieramusca, who had been friends with her daughter since they met as students at the Texas Bible Institute in Columbus, Texas, killed her.

"This is unreal to us," Tammy told PEOPLE previously. "We can't make sense of it."

On Thursday, Tammy spoke to Fieramusca during the hearing, multiple outlets reported.

"We miss her dearly. She's forever strong in the midst of all the people," she said. "She was just so much fun and just so full of life and now it's been taken."