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Tammy Sytch, known as Sunny during her time in the then World Wrestling Federation (WWF), was at one time so popular that she was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 2, 2011.
On Monday, she was sentenced to more than 17 years in prison for killing a 75-year-old man, Julian Lasseter, while driving drunk in Florida.
She was also sentenced to 8 years of probation, 50 hours of community service, and a $10,000 fine.
In her defense statement to the court on Monday, Sytch said, “I have done something horrible, but I am so much more than the worst that I have done. I try to think about the good I’ve done, because when I think about what I did to the Lasseter Family that tragic day, for a stupid decision, I feel the regret and remorse deep inside my soul.
“I know they don’t get to rest knowing he’s gone, because when I was 20 I lost my father as well to heart disease. Last August my 87-year-old grandmother passed away when I was incarcerated. I never got to say goodbye to her, just liek they didn’t get to say goodbye to their beloved family member.”
“I know how it hurts and how it tears you up, and for that, I am truly sorry, I know my words are not enough, but please know that I will do everything I can to make sure that this never happens again.”
That, however, appears very hard to believe when considering her past history of criminal behavior.
Since 2012, Tammy Sytch has been arrested on charges of violating an order of protection (multiple times), disorderly conduct, third-degree burglary, failing to appear in court, contempt of court, DUI (multiple times), leaving the scene of an accident (multiple times), receiving stolen property, missing a scheduled drug test, failing to report to her parole officer, driving without a license (multiple times), driving an unregistered vehicle, operating a vehicle without required financial responsibility (insurance), displaying plate card in improper vehicle, operating a vehicle without a valid inspection, driving without Evidence of an Emission Inspection, consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle, reckless driving, failure to stop at a stop sign, driving the wrong way on a one-way street, driving with a suspended driver’s license, careless driving, unlawfully possessing a weapon and making terroristic threats.
Her latest arrest saw charges of felony DUI causing death, felony driving with license suspended causing death, four misdemeanor counts of DUI with damage to a person, and two misdemeanor charges of DUI with damage to property.
During her sentencing hearing, which can be viewed in full below, the prosecution pointed out that Sytch had been previously arrested three times in the span of 21 days for DUI.
At the time of the fatal car accident, Sytch, 50, did not have a valid driver’s license, had an official blood alcohol level of .280 (taken four hours after the crash), THC in her blood, and a open bottle of vodka in her car.
Prosecution also stated that after the accident Sytch had no recollection of driving and that the last thing she remembered was fixing and eating burritos at her home.
A month before the fatal car crash, Tammy Sytch was arrested in New Jersey for allegedly threatening to murder an “intimate partner” with a pair of scissors. She faces up to another 11 years in prison for that incident.