Utah man who streamed mom’s death on Facebook Live goes to prison
Jeffrey Antonio Langford Jr. and his mother, Graciela Holker, in a Facebook photo.
Langford
FARMINGTON — Jeffrey Langford said his mother was dying already from a self-inflicted wound when he fired two shots into the back of her head, alternately streaming parts of the incident on Facebook Live.
“I loved my mother more than anyone in this world,” Langford said in court before he was sentenced to prison. “We were always together. She was toxic, she was bad, but I will not admit to killing anyone. I did not kill her.”
Langford has begun a term of up to 15 years in the Utah State Prison, a sentence rendered July 20 in 2nd District Court by Judge David Connors.
Langford, 24, of North Salt Lake, originally was charged with first-degree felony murder in the Oct. 26, 2019, shooting death of Graciela Holker.
But he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter, a second-degree felony.
Langford and Holker were both intoxicated on drugs and alcohol, which prosecutors, Langford’s attorney and other Langford relatives said was an ongoing existence for the pair.
Langford’s maternal grandmother, Laura Torres, testified on Langford’s behalf at the sentencing hearing, according to an audio recording of the proceeding.
She said Langford had a “rotten” background. His father died of suicide when he was 11 and Holker was a long-term drug addict and alcoholic.
“Whenever she was in jail or rehab, when she was let out I even begged Jeffrey not to take her in,” Torres said. “But that was his mother and he wouldn’t hear of it.”
Langford’s uncle, Holker’s brother, told the judge Langford was “a wonderful kid, very bright and open and willing to go the extra mile for everybody.”
But the uncle, who was a former Salt Lake City police officer and a deputy U.S. marshal, said Langford would flourish after he would separate from Holker.
“When she would come back around he would go into darkness,” he said.
Mark Arrington, Langford’s attorney, said Holker was the “supplying contributor to Jeffrey’s alcohol and drug use and eventual horrible criminal conduct.”
“While under the influence the evidence suggests that his mother shot herself, and then Jeffrey, probably struggling with what to do, shot her, I believe in a motivation to end her misery,” Arrington said.
The attorney urged Connors to sentence Langford to a year in jail, with credit for time already served, and two years of drug treatment, counseling and Therapy at Odyssey House in Salt Lake County.
“I don’t know that the community’s going to be served one iota if he goes to prison,” Arrington said.
Nathan Lyon, a Davis County deputy attorney, argued strenuously for a tougher sentence.
“He needs to own his own conduct and actions, and frankly I’m appalled — heretofore we’ve been hearing how it’s his mother’s fault,” Lyon said.
“He killed her,” Lyon said. “It’s disappointing we’re still not seeing any acceptance of responsibility, no expression of remorse for what he has done.”
The case, Lyon said, “has all been about him; from the word go he’s been worried about how this is going to impact him … rather than being remorseful.”
Lyon said it was telling that instead of calling 911 after Holker shot herself, Langford “got on Facebook Live and decided to broadcast this to the entire world.”
Langford lied to investigators and manipulated the crime scene, the prosecutor added.
“We agree there was an initial shot to the head, but he shot her twice in the back of the head and slit her throat,” Lyon said. “This is absolutely horrific … We can’t just look at this and say, well, you need to learn some life skills, let’s put you in Odyssey House.”
Arrington responded he doubted Lyon “understands in these kind of dysfunctional relationships the kind of emotional flatline that develops in alcohol and drug use.”
Langford told Connors, “I’m smart. I’m young. I’m not a dangerous guy.”
He added, “This whole thing is horrible. I now have two parents dead, both from suicide.”
Connors said the law limited him to two choices: either a one-year jail term and probation or an indeterminate prison term of up to 15 years.
“Neither of these appears to me to be an appropriate option,” Connors said. “I know you didn’t kill anyone, Mr. Langford, but it seems crystal clear … that your mother was still alive.”
The judge said no one knows what condition Holker really was in when Langford finished her off.
“I’m not sure spending 9 or 10 or 15 years in prison is the right answer,” Connors said.
He said state sentencing matrix guidelines suggest Langford will spend about 9 years in prison before parole. But that will now be decided by the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole.
The judge recommended to the board that Langford get credit for the time served in jail so far and that he receive substance abuse and mental health treatment in prison.