Chattanooga man avoids death penalty in 3 killings

Courtney High, 33, received life sentence in murder of Bianca Horton, two others

Staff photo / Courtney High is arraigned via remote video in Judge Tom Greenholtz’s courtroom in 2018. High pleaded guilty to several murders Wednesday in Hamilton County Criminal Court and received a life sentence.

A former Hamilton County gang member took the stand Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to three murders to apologize for one of them — that of Bianca Horton, an innocent witness who planned to testify against a fellow gang member.

“Bianca was not a member of any criminal enterprise,” Courtney High said in Hamilton County Criminal Court. “I’m most sympathetic about her. She was just an innocent mother who was murdered for nothing.”

High, 33, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, felony murder, second-degree murder and especially aggravated kidnapping as part of an agreement with state prosecutors. He received a life sentence and will be eligible for parole after serving 51 years.

He was facing the death penalty, which he avoided through the plea arrangement.

High admitted Wednesday to also murdering Jerrica Jackson and Marquise Jackson in 2016.

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