PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The 24-year-old woman who pleaded guilty for her role in helping a man wanted by the FBI for the alleged murder of his pregnant girlfriend has been sentenced.
Justin Smith has been on the run for nearly two and a half years after he allegedly shot and killed his 21-year-old pregnant girlfriend Dianna Brice on March 30, 2021. Prosecutors say Tylydia Garnett helped him evade arrest and dump the victim’s body.
Garnett pleaded guilty to arson, abuse of corpse, and hindering apprehension.
Judge Rosemarie Defino sentenced Garnett to 11 ½ to 23 months, with five years of probation, saying, “She let him get away. She needs to go to jail.”
A week after Brice was reported missing, her body was discovered in a wooded area near 58th Street and Eastwick Avenue. Smith’s car had been set on fire about a mile from there.
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Brice’s mother Betty Cellini took the stand and pleaded to the defendant and her family in the courtroom to “please do the right thing and turn him in.” Through sobs, she told the judge her daughter was a caring, single mom. She says Brice left behind a 4-year-old son who kisses her urn every morning and wakes up every night asking if his mother is coming home.
In a long statement, Garnett told the court her account of what happened, saying that she was terrified Smith would kill her and her loved ones when she helped him discard Brice's body, then drove him to Florida.
Smith is still a wanted fugitive. Anyone who has seen him is asked to call the FBI at 215-418-4000 or send tips through tips.fbi.gov. Tipsters can remain anonymous. There is a $25,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.