LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A former adult film star who beheaded and killed her ex-husband will be sentenced to at least 28 years in prison, a judge ruled Thursday.
In November, after a two-week trial, a jury convicted Devin Michaels, 47, of first-degree murder in the death of Johnathan Willette, 46, with a deadly weapon. On the night of August 6, 2023, Michaels killed Jonathan Willett at his home in Henderson, beating him with a stick and then decapitating him.
Michaels last worked as a real estate agent, also using the names Nikki Fairchild and Tracy Tavares.
On Thursday, Clark County District Court Judge Tierra Jones sentenced Michaels to 28 years to life in prison.
“I couldn’t achieve what my family wanted,” Michaels said briefly before Jones sentenced her.
Police found Johnathan Willette dead with chemicals on his body. Detectives suspect Michaels threw his head in a trash can in the Northwest Valley community. Police never found it.
During the trial, prosecutors played a video in which Michaels told police she was massaging Jonathan Willett in his bedroom when she hit him with what she described as a “candelabra-like” object.
Michaels married Johnathan Willette in 2012 but divorced in 2018. Michaels later married Johnathan Willette’s 29-year-old son, Devier Willette, but she said it was a marriage of convenience, according to testimony.
Devyn Michaels, 47, appeared in court for sentencing on January 8, 2026. (Klass)
After Jonathan Willett was murdered, his father and stepmother took charge of his two children. They said the grandparents never met their grandson and never met Michaels.
“We can’t get Jonathan back,” said Valerie Willette, Jonathan Willette’s stepmother. “God gained an angel in heaven. We believe he is watching over us and the girls.”
“Her daughters will die knowing she killed their father,” James “JC” Willett, Jonathan Willett’s father, said after the sentencing. “That’s where she should be. If you take someone’s life, you shouldn’t be running around.”
In 2024, Michaels pleaded guilty to a second-degree murder charge. As part of the agreement, she will be eligible for parole after serving 15 years. Michaels later tried to withdraw her plea, but Jones determined Michaels made it “voluntarily, knowingly and intelligently,” the documents said. At his initial sentencing hearing in July 2025, Michaels apologized and then immediately stated that he was innocent and sent the case to trial.
The jury did not hear about the previous deal during the trial, and Michaels never took the stand to testify.
As 8 News Now investigators reported after Michaels’ arrest, Clark County District Court Judge Mary Kay Holthus sentenced Michaels to one year of probation on Aug. 9, 2023, for child abuse in the killing of Johnathan Willette, but before her arrest. In the days before and after that hearing, police were interviewing Michaels and gathering evidence as part of their murder investigation.
During that hearing, Michaels told Holthus she was “not an abuser.”
You can contact 8 News Now Investigator David Charns at dcharns@8newsnow.com.
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