WCMessenger.com: Former student receives 60 years for murder

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Former student receives 60 years for murder

By Mandy Bourgeois | Published Sunday, June 14, 2009

A former Northwest student pleaded guilty to murder Tuesday in a Denton County court, said Denton County Assistant District Attorney Jamie Beck.

Paul Allen Henson Jr., 17, of Haslet was sentenced to 60 years in prison for the murder of Susan Bailey in September. Bailey was the mother of his girlfriend, Jennifer Bailey, 18, a 2008 Northwest High School graduate.

Beck said Henson waived an adult certification hearing in juvenile court that morning. He was booked in Denton County Jail with bail set at $1 million by the juvenile court judge.

"Part of the plea offer was that he would waive the hearing and then be brought to our adult court and accept a 60-year sentence," Beck said.

Susan Bailey was found dead in her Roanoke home on Sunday, Sept. 28, with fatal stab wounds to her neck, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's office.

Roanoke Police responded to the home after they received a call from police in Yankton, S.D., early Sunday morning. Yankton police had stopped a vehicle registered to Susan Bailey and occupied by Jennifer Bailey, Henson and Jennifer's 14-year-old brother.

Jennifer Bailey has a jury trial set for Sept. 14 and is being held in Denton County Jail. The Denton County District Attorney's Office cannot give out information on the 14-year-old brother because of his age.