Diane Palmantier pleads guilty to manslaughter in beating death
A Calgary woman has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter in the beating death of Marcella Gramlich.
Diane Palmantier, 41, was originally charged with first-degree murder in the beating death in October 2011. At the time, police said the woman was beaten for hours.
Slain Calgary woman beaten for hours, police say
An agreed statement of facts in the case was heard Wednesday at the Calgary Courts Centre.
Palmantier admitted she repeatedly struck Gramlich, 53, as they were driven around the city drinking whisky.
When Palmantier and the male driver realized how badly the woman was injured they drove her to the Peter Lougheed Centre and put her in a wheel chair, according to the statement.
It’s believed the woman was already dead.
The autopsy lists multiple internal and external injuries, including skull fractures, scratches and bruising.
Sentencing is expected to happen this summer. The driver was not charged in the death.
