VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Author's note: The video above is from a separate story on the case that aired on March 30, 2022.
Jason Jablonski, a former Navy sailor who was initially charged with murder, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter on Wednesday in Virginia Beach Circuit Court.
According to previous coverage, the violence unfolded on March 11, 2022, in the 1200 block of Edenham Ct. That's at the Eastwyck Village Apartments.
Police started investigating after residents found a man lying face-down in a breezeway area.
When they got to the scene around 7:30 a.m. that day, they found Herbert Bryant, 45, dead.
Upon investigating, police charged 41-year-old Jason Jablonski with second-degree murder and 35-year-old Heather Totty with accessory to murder after the fact, according to previous coverage.
Court documents reveal that Jablonski got into a fight with Bryant the night prior while "on a crack bender."
In an interview with police, Jablonski said that Bryant went to attack Totty and threw an ashtray at her. That's when he said he intervened.
Documents say Jablonski beat Bryant with a dumbbell and then pushed it down on his neck until he stopped moving.
An autopsy performed on March 12 confirmed that Bryant died from asphyxiation due to blunt force head trauma and a stab wound on his right shoulder.
The documents say that Totty then helped to drag Bryant's body outside and attempted to clean up the scene. They go on to say she collected all of Bryant's stuff in a bag, which officers found in a dumpster.
Detectives located Jablonski and Totty at a hotel in Chesapeake. They were arrested, and then both were denied bond.
At Wednesday's court appearance, Jablonski's sentencing was set for January 10, 2023.