BATTLE CREEK, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Calhoun County Judge Sarah Lincoln has ruled a man’s life without parole sentence for beating, raping, and killing five-year-old Nicole VanNoty in 1994 will stand.
Jason Symonds appealed his sentence in 2025.
He was 16-years-old when he killed the little girl and first appealed his sentence after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled juvenile lifers had the opportunity to be resentenced.
Symonds will likely appeal to the Michigan Court of Appeals, and can also file another appeal with the Michigan Supreme Court if the sentence is upheld again.
I realize a child’s brain isn’t fully developed until 18 years old, but you can’t tell me he didn’t know what he was doing at 16 years old. Michigan needs to bring in the death penalty, quit making excuses and hang him up by his balls. He was old enough to know how to intentionally rape her and kill her, he’s old enough to suffer any consequences. Just my opinion.