A Shelby County jury has found Jonathan Brush guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the 2022 road rage stabbing that killed Memphis chef Jody Moyt, a verdict that reduced the more serious charge prosecutors wanted and left Moyt’s family visibly furious in court. Brush now heads to a sentencing hearing next month in Shelby County Criminal Court.
Brush’s attorney, Blake Ballin, told Action News 5 that the voluntary manslaughter conviction puts his client in a 3 to 6 year prison range, though Ballin said Brush already has about four years of credit toward that term. According to the attorney, sentencing is scheduled for June 22.
Police and earlier reporting say the confrontation unfolded in April 2022 after a traffic run-in on Sam Cooper Boulevard near North Hollywood, where officers later found Moyt inside his car with multiple stab wounds. Moyt was the executive chef at Lafayette’s Music Room in Overton Square and was well known in Memphis dining circles. The Daily Memphian reported that the lesser manslaughter verdict sparked anger from Moyt’s relatives, who had expected a harsher outcome.
Earlier coverage and court records show Brush has a criminal history, including a 1992 murder conviction in Florida for which he served roughly a decade in prison, according to CrimeOnline. Police documents filed after the April 2022 incident say Brush called 911 and claimed the other driver had run him off the road and threatened him before the stabbing, according to contemporaneous reports.
Legal note
Under Tennessee law, voluntary manslaughter is a lesser included homicide that happens in a “state of passion produced by adequate provocation,” and it is commonly charged as a Class C felony. Appellate decisions and sentencing rules generally put a Range I punishment at about 3 to 6 years in prison, although judges can weigh aggravating and mitigating factors before settling on a final number. For a detailed explanation of the statute and sentencing ranges, see this opinion from the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals.
What’s next
Brush is due back in Shelby County Criminal Court on June 22 for sentencing, when the judge will decide how much of Tennessee’s statutory range he will serve behind bars. Moyt’s relatives told The Daily Memphian that the manslaughter verdict fell short of the justice they were seeking and has left the family deeply frustrated.
