A Third District Court judge sentenced a woman to 15 years to life in prison Wednesday in connection with the 2021 shooting death of her live-in girlfriend.
Patrice Ann Winward, 33, was convicted of murder in May. Eight other charges — including possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, obstructing justice, and felony discharge of a firearm — were dropped.
According to the charges, on Aug. 17, 2021, witnesses told police that Winward and her girlfriend, Nicole Carter, 31, were riding bicycles as they engaged in a “heated verbal argument,” shouting obscenities at each other. The witnesses said Carter was trying to get away from Winward. They heard several gunshots, and the arguing stopped.
When police officers arrived at 885 W. South Temple about 3:30 a.m., they found Winward performing CPR on Carter, who had been shot in the torso. Medical personnel pronounced Carter dead, and Winward left the scene claiming she had a medical emergency at home.
The charges state that Winward later told police she had been arguing with Carter and fired several shots “to prevent her from leaving.” She also admitted she lied about why she left the scene of the shooting, and that she gave the gun to a child with instructions to hide it in a storm drain. The gun was later recovered there.
“Ms. Winward not only tried to avoid responsibility for this crime by giving her gun to someone else to hide, but also by fleeing the scene shortly after police arrived,” Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said in a statement Wednesday.
“The sentence imposed helps ensure Ms. Winward is held accountable for the intentional, criminal act of violence that took Ms. Carter’s life,” Gill continued. “We mourn the death of Ms. Carter and hope that the resolution of this case will help her loved ones begin to heal.”
