In the quiet community of Prosser, Washington, the life of 35-year-old Amanda L. Hill, a Caucasian female, was tragically cut short on February 10, 2018. The evening began as a celebration, a birthday party for her friend, Amy S. Brown. As the night wound down, a discovery by Brown would lead to a fatal confrontation. Brown found Hill in the same bed with her fiancé, a sight that sparked a heated argument between the two women.
The verbal altercation spilled outside, where it escalated
physically. According to Brown's account to Benton County sheriff's deputies, Hill grabbed her face and throat. In what she would later claim was self-defense, Brown retrieved a. 38-caliber revolver from her SUV. She told investigators that she knew Hill was trying to fight her, not kill her, but she fired the weapon twice, striking Hill in the abdomen. When emergency crews arrived, they found Brown holding her dying friend, attempting to stop the bleeding.
Following an investigation by the Benton County Sheriff's Office, Amy S. Brown was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. After her arrest, she spent a short time in the Benton County jail before her bail was reduced, and she was released. The case proceeded to trial, where a jury considered the evidence, including Brown's video-recorded interview with detectives. The jurors did not believe her claim of self-defense and deliberated for less than three hours before finding her guilty.
In June 2020, Amy S. Brown, then 38, was sentenced for the murder of her friend. While the prosecution recommended a sentence of 16 years and eight months, and Brown's defense argued for a much lower sentence, the judge ultimately sentenced her to 15 years in prison. The tragic event left a community in shock and a young son without his mother. Friends and co-workers of Amanda Hill remembered her as a dedicated and vibrant individual who had moved to the area to create a better life for herself and her son.
