A San Leon man has been sentenced to serve a 40-year term for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Mary Elizabeth Hyman, in an episode dating back to April 2021. William Glenn Herron, 57, received his sentence after a jury conviction on October 11, as reported by Click2Houston. The same source detailed that Herron chose for the court to determine his punishment, resulting in the 40-year sentence delivered yesterday.
The case unraveled on a day in April last year after a disturbance was reported at Hyman's trailer. However, a responding Galveston County Sheriff’s Deputy left without observing signs of trouble. The very next day, Herron himself called 911, claiming to believe that Hyman had succumbed. Deputies found her corpse displaying severe blunt force trauma and evidence of a violent altercation, prompting an investigation subsequently leading to Herron's indictment in August 2021. According to FOX26 Houston, Herron was indicted on murder charges that August.
During the trial, the prosecution presented text messages and video surveillance footage suggesting that Herron had been following Hyman in the days leading up to her death. This evidence provided a timeline leading to the fatal event. In contrast, Herron’s defense proposed that Hyman’s injuries were either caused by an unknown assailant or resulted from accidental falls. The jury deliberated for just over an hour before returning a guilty verdict.
At the conclusion of the trial, chief prosecutor Whitney Rasberry emphasized the severity of the crime, stating, "He beat her to death and discarded her like a piece of trash." This was conveyed by Click2Houston. Despite the prosecution's request for a life sentence, Herron was handed a 40-year sentence.
