Woman shoots friend dead in bed full of flowers as haunting texts reveal 'botched suicide pact'

Heavenly Faith Garfield, 22, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter with the condition that it is illegal to assist someone's suicide after she shot dead her friend in a bed full of flowers

A young woman shot her friend in the head after they allegedly backed out of a suicide pact.

Heavenly Faith Garfield, 22, is said to have pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter under the provision that it's illegal to assist someone's suicide. In return for her guilty plea, prosecutors have dropped charges of first-degree murder and discharge of a firearm. These charges were brought after it was found that Brooklyn Michelle Barrett, 21, had been shot and killed by the defendant in a bed strewn with flowers.

Garfield confessed to authorities that she shot her friend in the head. In April, Garfield's father rang the police to their home in Utah, US,. In a 911 call, the defendant's father relayed everything that had transpired, reports the Mirror US.

"The reporting party told dispatch that the deceased individual had been shot and killed by his daughter," a probable cause statement reads, according to Law and Crime. "The caller stated that Garfield shot the deceased according to a suicide pact between her and the deceased in which one party would fatally shoot the other and then herself."

When police arrived at the property, they discovered Barrett alone and with an" obvious gunshot wound to the head." Court documents obtained by the media reveal that the woman was found "covered with a blanket and there were flowers laid on the bed."

The papers also noted an unloaded Smith and Wesson MandP 9 mm pistol with one shell casing in bed with the deceased on Barrett's nightstand. During their search of Barrett's room, on East Propeller Row in Saratoga Springs, roughly 35 miles outside Salt Lake City in Utah, US, police found "a note written and signed by Garfield and the deceased in which both parties discussed their intention to die by suicide."

Days later, Garfield's sister handed over the second missing bullet - which had not been spent - to the police. "Garfield's sister said that Garfield had given her the bullet and told her that it was the bullet she intended to use to shoot herself," the probable cause statement reads.

On the same day, the defendant's father gave law enforcement two boxes of ammunition - along with the receipt for the bullets - that were bought from a local tactical store. According to the woman's father, she had allegedly asked him to move the ammo from the back of her car.

"The first box he produced contained Sig Sauer 9 mm Rose FMJ rounds; all rounds were still in the box," the statement continues. "The second box contained Federal Premium Jacketed Hollow Point rounds. There were two rounds missing from the second box. After this chilling discovery, another friend of Barrett came forward saying that the woman had previously confided in him about her wish to die and how she planned to do it.

"Officers were later contacted by a friend of the deceased who had called dispatch and requested a welfare check of the deceased out of concern for her safety," revealed court documents. "The friend provided screenshots of several text messages between him and the deceased in which the deceased expresses suicidal ideations. The friend also advised that he was aware of a suicide pact between the deceased and Heavenly Faith Garfield, and specifically, that the pact was that one party would fatally shoot the other and then herself."

Photos discovered by officials showed Barret and Garfield purchasing firearms together. In the wake of her passing, Barrett's relatives have launched a GoFundMe to cover funeral costs, having raised $9,880 towards a $12,000 target as of Friday.

At a Tuesday hearing, Barrett's kin consented to a plea agreement proposed by prosecutors. Garfield now potentially faces one to 15 years in state lockup and could be hit with fines up to $10,000.

Her sentencing date is set for November 6.

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