NATCHEZ — A Jayess man pleaded guilty Wednesday to manslaughter in the June 2010 fatal shooting of his live-in girlfriend.

Robert Wayne Silvia, now 61, had been found guilty of murder in 2012 following a Walthall County trial and was sentenced to life in prison. However, Silvia was afforded a new trial after the Mississippi Court of Appeals overturned the conviction on the grounds the trial court failed to conduct a hearing on the results of Silvia’s competency examination.

Prosecutors said deputies found the body of Silvia’s 52-year-old girlfriend Darlene Berthelot in a freezer on June 10, 2010, after responding to a call from her daughter, Mandy Berthelot, asking them to check on her mother’s welfare.

On Wednesday at the Adams County Courthouse, 14th Judicial District Circuit Court Judge Michael Taylor sentenced Silvia to serve the maximum 20 years, which is the requirement for a habitual offender. Silvia will also be fined $10,000 and ordered to contribute $6,500 to the crime victim’s compensation fund.

Mandy Berthelot said Wednesday during sentencing that Silvia had been with her mother for 17 years, and he was supposed to be a father to her and a grandfather to her children.

“Whenever this first happened, I guess I was just in shock,” Mandy Berthelot said. “Now that it has been as long as it has been, you know, the pain is so much more unbearable now than it was then.

“It is not fair at 33 to lose your mother, and to have three kids, and have to try to explain to them their grandfather murdered their grandmother. We had a happy little family. He was like a stepdad for me. It hurts. It hurts bad.”

Silvia said during sentencing he had no answers for why the shooting happened.

“My way of thinking wasn’t right,” he said. “For that, I am really sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt anybody.

“Darlene and I were having our problems. I just lost it. I’m not trying to make excuses, that’s just what happened, I lost it.”

Defense attorney Bill Goodwin of McComb said Wednesday a concern in going to trial for the defense was that a jury would have had a hard time understanding why Darlene Berthelot’s body was found in a freezer.

On the prosecution’s side, 14th Judicial District of Mississippi Assistant District Attorney Timothy Jones said a concern was the Walthall County Sheriff’s Office did not have a search warrant when Darlene Berthelot’s body was discovered.

“After deliberating with the family, we are satisfied with the outcome,” Jones said. “They look forward to being able to move on.”

Goodwin said this case meets the definition of manslaughter. He said no malice or forethought existed for Silvia.

“I believe this homicide was done in the heat of passion,” Goodwin said. “Had Mr. Silvia not been very intoxicated, I do not believe the death of Mrs. Berthelot would have happened.”

Goodwin said Silvia claims he did not remember pulling the trigger on the shotgun and killing Darlene Berthelot. When Silvia woke up the next morning, Goodwin said Silvia called out to Darlene Berthelot before finding her body in the living room.

In a state of panic, Silvia put Darlene Berthelot’s body in the freezer, Goodwin said.

“I would like to offer my sympathies to the family,” Goodwin said.

Defense attorney John McNeil of Magnolia said Silvia would get credit for time served for the six and a half years he has been in jail, and would likely be required to only serve the remaining 13 and a half years of Wednesday’s 20-year sentence.

The Walthall County Sheriff’s office became involved on June 10, 2010, when Mandy Berthelot, who lived in Louisiana, informed the sheriff’s office she had not been able to reach her mother. Attempts through Silvia were unsuccessful, as each time he would give her different excuses as to why Darlene Berthelot was unavailable.

The deputy checked in with a neighbor and Darlene Berthelot’s place of employment to discover she had not been present lately before entering. Believing someone may be inside the deputy entered and found Darlene Berthelot’s body in a large deep freezer in the kitchen. She was covered up with a comforter and packs of frozen food.

During his first trial, Silvia testified he and Darlene Berthelot had been experiencing financial trouble since he lost his job and emotional stress since Darlene Berthelot’s daughter died in a car accident.

Silvia testified Darlene Berthelot had wanted to separate and offered Silvia $1,000 to go home to Massachusetts. This happened two days before her death, Silvia testified.

Silvia testified he began to drink heavily and anger was building up over the potential separation, and also because Darlene Berthelot had been in contact with her ex-husband concerning the death of her daughter.

When asked about the shooting, Silvia testified he had no memory of the incident. One moment they were sitting in the living room, and the next thing Silvia said he remembered was standing in the doorway holding a shotgun, and Darlene Berthelot was dead.

A medical examiner said Darlene Berthelot had been dead about four or five days before her body was found. she had been shot once in the neck and once in the abdomen.

Silvia covered her body with a comforter and went to sleep, putting her body in the freezer the next day, he testified.

Out of money, Silvia testified he pawned the shotgun and one piece of Darlene Berthelot’s jewelry, then proceeded to drink heavily and watched pornographic movies.

In his appeal, Silvia did not deny he killed Berthelot. Instead, he argues the shooting occurred while he was in a state of hopeless despair and intoxication because Darlene Berthelot was going to leave him.

Adams County was selected as the location for the retrial because media coverage would have made it difficult to find a jury in the Hattiesburg or Jackson area, Taylor said Tuesday.