Evie Lyn Butterworth pleads guilty to manslaughter of Abbey Sheriff, who died in fatal high-speed crash in Perth
By Nicolas PerpitchA 29-year-old woman has pleaded guilty to unlawfully killing another motorist on a Perth freeway while speeding and under the influence of a cocktail of drugs.
Evie Lyn Butterworth was charged by WA Police in March 2023 over the crash, which happened on the Kwinana Freeway in Baldivis about 11:35pm on January 11 of the same year.
Abbey Sheriff, 21, was killed when the vehicle Butterworth was driving collided with her car.
Butterworth pleaded guilty to one charge of manslaughter in the Perth Magistrates Court today.
Another charge of driving a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs was discontinued, with the prosecutor indicating that element was encompassed in the manslaughter plea.
Police had previously told the court Butterworth was driving between 141 and 188 kilometres per hour before the crash and was affected by drugs, including cocaine, cannabis and methamphetamine.
'Long road' for parents
Outside court, Ms Sheriff's parents said the guilty plea gave them some relief.
"She had five high-end cocktail drugs in her system, she was speeding. She knew what she was doing behind the wheel, and it's taken a life that did not deserve," Ms Sheriff's mother Julie Sheriff said outside court.
"She only just had her 21st … it's been a long road."
Butterworth is due to be sentenced on October 29.
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