Florida Woman, Whose Smiling Mugshot Went Viral, Cried In Court As She Was Sentenced To 11 Years For Fatal DUI


A Florida woman, who gained national attention for a beaming smile she flashed in a mugshot after a drunk driving crash that killed a woman, has now changed her tune.

Agenette Missett cried in court this week as she was sentenced to 11 years in prison for the crash that claimed the life of 60-year-old Sandra Clarkston. As Fox 13 reported, Missett was driving drunk when she slammed into Clarkston at a stop light, pushing her car into the back of a horse trailer.

Missett was arrested, and a blood alcohol test found that she had more than twice the legal limit of alcohol in her bloodstream. She went on to plead no contest to manslaughter charges.

Agenette Missett had gained national attention last year with the release of her mugshot, which showed her with a wide smile despite the fatal crash. The picture drew such a sharp pushback that Missett’s lawyer spoke out in defense of the accused woman’s character.

“Mrs. Welk is a good-hearted person, a wife, mother and friend who is devastated by what happened,” lawyer Stacy Youmans said, via Ocala. “Her heart breaks for the Clarkston family.”

Pictures and video from the trial showed a very different Missett, looking haggard from crying as she listened to others speak and learned that she would be spending more than a decade behind bars for the drunk driving crash.

In court on Thursday, Missett apologized to Clarkston’s family members.

“I am truly, truly sorry and if I could change spots with your mother I would in a heartbeat. I am sorry. I am sorry. I am truly, truly sorry,” Missett told family members who were in the court to hear her sentencing.

The family had also saved the smashed-up car that Clarkston was driving, and had it towed to the courthouse for the sentencing, Fox 13 reported.

But Clarkston’s family members did not seem to harbor ill will toward Missett. The deceased woman’s twin brother, Daniel Clarkston, told the court that he would be okay with whatever sentence the judge chose to impose.

“Whatever sentence he imposes on her, I’m okay with,” Clarkston said. “I’m not going to be vindictive about it because it’s not going to bring her back. I’m fighting for my sister, my twin. She deserves it.”

The family members have also used Sandra Clarkston’s death to try to prevent other drunk-driving deaths. They planned to donate the smashed car so it could be taken to high schools and teach the dangers of drinking and driving, Fox 13 reported.

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