Kayla Giles pleads guilty in ID theft case

Kayla Giles has pleaded guilty to identity theft, receiving a two-year sentence.

Giles already is serving life plus 30 years for the 2018 murder of her estranged husband, Thomas Coutee Jr.

While she was awaiting trial in that case, she and a Forest Hill woman were arrested by the Louisiana Attorney General's Office. They were accused of stealing the identities of more than two dozen people to steal approximately $300,000 in unemployment benefits in Louisiana and at least five other states.

She was arrested on charges of identity theft, government benefits fraud, criminal conspiracy and money laundering. The case was prosecuted in the 19th Judicial District Court, which is East Baton Rouge Parish.

Identity theft: State accuses Kayla Giles, Forest Hill woman of stealing $300K in benefits

'She's a murderer': Kayla Giles sentenced to life plus 30 years for slaying of Thomas Coutee Jr.

After her January conviction on second-degree murder and obstruction of justice charges — and the resulting mandatory life prison sentence — it was unclear whether prosecution in the fraud case would proceed.

On Thursday, an AG spokesperson confirmed that Giles accepted a plea deal in the case and was sentenced to two years.

The second woman in the case, Teri Nichole Champagne, is wanted on a warrant because she failed to appear for her arraignment in Rapides Parish on two felony counts of identity theft in April 2021.

This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Kayla Giles, already serving life for murder, gets 2 years for ID theft