Sepulveda Woman Gets 3-Year Term for Killing Son

A Sepulveda woman who stabbed her son to death during a quarrel over $50 was sentenced Thursday to three years in prison.

Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Alan B. Haber gave Sammie Lavern McGee, 38, the relatively short term because she had no prior criminal record and feels remorse for the killing. Voluntary manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of 11 years.

With credit for time she has already served in jail and work performed while in custody, McGee will be eligible for parole in 45 days, Haber said.

McGee pleaded guilty May 31 to one count of voluntary manslaughter in the May, 14, 1988, death of her son, Bluefus Davis, 18.

In exchange for McGee’s guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to drop a more serious charge of murder.

Davis, whom police said was a gang member, was found lying in the living room of his mother’s apartment in the 14600 block of Parthenia Street. He was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Witnesses said McGee picked up a steak knife and stabbed Davis once in the chest after he told her he was a gang member and “nobody messes with me.”

Some friends and family members told police McGee stabbed her son after an argument over his refusal to pay $50 in phone calls, for which his mother had been billed. Other witnesses contended that McGee wanted the money to buy cocaine, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Steven Plafker, prosecutor in the case.

Plafker argued for a mid-range prison term of six years.

McGee’s attorney, Phil Nameth, had asked that McGee be sentenced to probation, saying she had suffered enough while incarcerated.

A Department of Corrections psychologist evaluated McGee and recommended probation, Plafker said.