MADRAS — Sobs echoed through the Jefferson County Courthouse on Monday as Paige Vannorsdall pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter for killing her ex-husband, Devyne Briggs of Prineville.

The plea deal, in which charges of murder and assault were dropped, was struck just weeks before the case was meant to go to trial.

“We had no idea we were here for a manslaughter charge,” the victim’s mother, Jackie Rubio, 59, said through tears. “I just need to know what all this means.”

Vannorsdall, who was 26 at the time, shot Briggs, 28, several times on Dec. 16, 2022, when Briggs arrived at her Madras home to pick up their then-6-year-old son. Court records show the pair were involved in a custody battle in which Vannorsdall alleged Briggs was physically and sexually abusing their son. When evidence Vannorsdall was coaching her son to produce false abuse allegations came forward, a judge restored Briggs’ visitation rights, according to court records.

Vannorsdall’s lawyers have consistently argued she shot her ex-husband during an “extreme emotional disturbance” caused by the belief her son was being abused. “At the time of the homicide I was acting under extreme emotional disturbance such that I lost the capacity to control myself and forgo the homicide,” Vannorsdall wrote in her plea agreement.

“It wasn’t manslaughter. It was murder,” Rubio said emphatically after she recovered from hearing the news. “If you can prove that you personally believed you were emotionally distressed, you can murder somebody and it’s not even called murder?”

‘I’d rather have a trial, no matter how painful’

Rubio said Jefferson County District Attorney Steve Leriche told her the plea was a good compromise: Vannorsdall would plead guilty to first-degree manslaughter and the state would recommend a sentence of 17 years, more than the 10 years typical of a manslaughter charge, but less than the mandatory minimum of 25 years for murder.

But Rubio disagreed. She said her family would have been satisfied with a lesser sentence if only Vannorsdall admitted to murder.

Rubio maintains Vannorsdall killed Briggs to maintain control over their now 8-year-old son after Briggs filed a suit to gain full custody. She said Briggs was so fearful of Vannorsdall’s escalating behavior that he had a dash camera installed in his car and begged her to meet at the police station to transfer custody of their son for that weekend.

That same dash cam later recorded Briggs’ death.

“There’s a video of my son dying that the jury would see, and that really made me sad to think that 12 innocent people are going to look at that and be traumatized,” Rubio said. “So I have carefully weighed the situation. I’ve had 18 months to think about this, and I still believe we should have went to trial.”

Sentencing and next steps for the family

Vannorsdall’s sentencing will take place July 22. While Vannorsdall could have been sentenced immediately after the plea, Rubio said she asked the district attorney’s office to schedule the sentencing for the original trial date so that Briggs’ fiancee and other family members could be there.

Rubio and Briggs’ immediate family will have the opportunity to provide victim impact statements before sentencing. Their goal will be to persuade the judge to impose a harsher sentence than the 214 months recommended in the plea bargain.

“I’m going to just plead with the judge not to follow through on this plea. It’s by belief they are understaffed here — that there’s no assistant district attorney — and that (Leriche) doesn’t have time for this trial. This was just the easiest and most convent thing for them to do, regardless of how it impacted the victim’s family.”

Leriche was unavailable for comment.