Wilmington man sentenced to prison for 2018 voluntary manslaughter

A Wilmington man was sentenced to up to 11.8 years in prison after issuing an Alford guilty plea to voluntary manslaughter charges in New Hanover County Superior Court Wednesday.

Jonathan Dwight Southers, age 54, stabbed 56-year-old Yolanda Bentley once in the chest shortly after 2 a.m. on April 12th, 2018 at Hanover Landing Apartments before fleeing on a bike, according to news release rom District Attorney Ben David’s Office.

Bentley died on the scene.

According to the release, a woman who was involved in a romantic relationship with Southers told detectives that he and another friend were drinking with Bentley in her apartment the night of April 11, 2018.

She said there was a confrontation over their relationships that night that became physical and Southers ultimately left the apartment but left his bike at the scene.

Neighbors reported hearing another heated argument outside of the woman’s apartment after 2 a.m. where investigators believe a violent confrontation ensued.

According to the release, Southers made several calls while booked at the New Hanover County Detention Center.

One conversation captured him telling another woman that she needed to throw his phone into the Cape Fear River. That woman was eventually located and confirmed that she had disposed of the phone for the defendant, the release states.

She also told detectives that Southers was acting strangely shortly after the murder and told her that he had done something to a woman and needed to turn himself in.

Reporter John Orona can be reached at 910-343-2327 or jorona@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Wilmington man sentence for 2018 apartment stabbing that killed a woman