Jacqueline Avant, wife of legendary music executive Clarence Avant, was shot dead in their home in December.
The man who shot and killed philanthropist Jacqueline Avant during an attempted burglary of the home she shared with her husband, “Godfather of Black Music” Clarence Avant, pleaded guilty Thursday.
Aariel Maynor broke into the Avants Beverly Hills home in the middle of the night on December 1 and encountered the 81-year-old Avant, shooting her and shooting at a security guard, who was not hit, as CrimeOnline previously reported.
Detectives found Maynor in the backyard of a Hollywood Hills home where he shot himself in the foot during an attempted burglary.
Maynor will be sentenced on March 30, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon said, and could be sentenced to 170 years to life in prison, TMZ reported. He will not be eligible for parole.
Clarence Avant, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year, was known for his work with Sarah Vaughn, Lalo Schifrin, Bill Withers, L.A. Reid, Babyface, Quincy Jones, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, and many others. He founded Sussex Records, Tabu Records, and Avant Gard Broadcasting and was the chairman of Motown Records in the 1990s.
Jacqueline Avant was widely known for her philanthropy, much if it in the arts community. She was on the board of directors of UCLA’s International Student Center and was president of Neighbors of Watts, focused on child care.
The Avants had been married for 54 years and had two children. Former US Ambassador to the Bahamas Nicole Avant is married to Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos and produced a documentary about her father, “The Black Godfather,” in 2019. Son Alexander Du Bois Avant is an actor and producer.
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[Featured image: FILE – Jacqueline Avant, left, and Clarence Avant in 2020. (Photo by Mark Von Holden Invision/AP, File)]
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