Lexington man pleads guilty to fatal stabbing in 2022
Wesley Tingey via Unsplash
A 26-year-old charged with stabbing a woman to death has pleaded guilty to amended charges related to her death.
Justus Bales, of Lexington, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and faces 17 years in prison. He was originally charged with murder — domestic violence in March 2022.
According to court documents, Bales entered a plea of guilty but mentally ill on July 25, 2023.
Bales is alleged to have stabbed 54-year-old Leslie Bales at a home off Southland Drive. When police were called to the home, they found the victim with “multiple stab wounds” which caused her death.
Despite a plea of guilty but mentally ill, Bales was found competent to stand trial by a physician.
By pleading guilty to first-degree manslaughter, Bales faces 17 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 7.