Jury deciding punishment for drunk driver found guilty of murder in sisters' League City crash The Galveston County jury, which found Michael Ray Strother, 71, guilty of murder in the 2023 drunk-driving deaths of sisters Jillian Coatney, 24, and Genesta Humphrey, 28, adjourned for the day Monday (10/20/2025) after about 45 minutes of deliberation on the punishment the insurance company owner should face. They are scheduled to return for further deliberation in Judge Lonnie Cox’s 56th District Court on Tuesday morning. Defense attorney Warren Diepraam described Strother as a “very caring man, probably the most caring individuals you will ever hear about,” and a “loving family man, a religious and very faithful person,' urging the jury to consider leniency in sentencing. Lead prosecutor Casey Kirst urged the jury to remember Coatney and Humphrey and the choice Strother made to drive drunk two years ago after consuming the equivalent of 7 drinks. She also reminded the jury that Strother had been twice convicted of drunk driving and had previously faced misdemeanor charges of theft and attempted forgery in the early 2000s. He pleaded no contest in each of the misdemeanor cases. The defense called several family members and friends of Strother to the stand, aiming to portray him as someone deserving leniency. Diepramm also told the jury that Strother had “spiraled” after his divorce from his first wife nearly two decades ago. Before Monday’s proceedings, in a last-ditch effort to get the case dismissed, the renowned DWI defense attorney Tyler Flood asked Cox to declare a mistrial, claiming that the sisters’ aunt Rhonda Richison posted her thoughts on Facebook about the case on Friday, after the jury convicted Strother of double murder. Richison, who was the first prosecution witness, shared her opinion on the verdict and described a video shown in open court of the crash response. In her post, she thanked everyone who cared for her nieces. Flood argued that because Richison was a witness, her comments about evidence and her opinions could unduly influence the jury’s decision on punishment. Kirst argued that jury members were forbidden from reading anything about the case and from doing their own research. i45NOW and the Daily News each reported on Richison’s testimony as well as the body cam video shown in court. Cox firmly denied Flood’s motion for a mistrial, but stated that Richison could not testify during the punishment phase, which prosecutors said was not part of their plan anyway. It was the evening of April 4, 2023, when Strother spent 3 ½ hours at Hugh and Jeff’s Car Wash and Bar, where he drank three double shots of whiskey and a beer before getting behind the wheel. Genesta Humphrey was driving her blue Mazda hatchback east on FM 646, with her special needs sister Coatney in the passenger seat. The pair were DoorDashing that night to earn money for surgery for Humphrey’s injured dog, family said. As the Mazda approached Hugh and Jeff’s, Strother’s silver pickup truck slowly crossed in front of them, causing the fatal crash. Coatney died at the scene, and Humphrey died at the hospital.

Posted by i45NOW TJ Aulds at 2025-10-20 23:50:08 UTC