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Aariel Maynor, the man accused of killing Jacqueline Avant, has pled guilty to first-degree murder, attempted murder, possession of a firearm by a felon and two counts of first-degree residential burglary with person present, according to a news release. He has entered an open plea, which means he is pleading guilty without agreeing with the prosecutor to a specific punishment.
“This crime continues to shock the conscience. Mrs. Avant’s death was a tragic loss felt by our entire community,” Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón said in a news release. “In this case, the defendant is facing 170 years to life in prison and is ineligible for elderly parole. Our Bureau of Victim Services will continue to be in contact with the family and their representatives to offer trauma-informed services.”
Maynor admitted to trying to kill the 81-year-old’s security guard and using an assault long barrel pistol during the heinous crime after he broke into the Avants’ Beverly Hills home on Dec. 1, 2021. He’ll be sentenced on March 30.
Avant was married to music executive Clarence Avant, known as the godfather of music, since 1967. They shared two children, Nicole and Alexander. Nicole Avant made her producing debut with Netflix’s The Black Godfather where she profiled her beloved father. During an interview with People, she described her mother as a woman with “a lot of grit and gratitude and grace.
“The things that you’ve been reading, I’m sure a lot of it’s about her elegance and her grace and her [art] collections and things like that,” she said. “But I think what people are now really understanding is what a natural philanthropist she was,” Nicole continued. “She was a philanthropist before it became popular to become a philanthropist and say you were one.”
Jacqueline Avant was a Queens, New York native who was a model turned philanthropist. She served on many boards, including the board of directors of the International Student Center at the University of California, Los Angeles, he board of the Neighbors of Watts and more.
