SAN ANTONIO — In an unlikely turn of events, Jessie MacWilliams, who is accused of fatally shooting another man at a San Antonio gym in 2022, accepted a plea deal Wednesday after a key witness at her trial changed her assessment of MacWilliams’ mental competency.

MacWilliams was initially ruled competent to stand trial for the August 2022 shooting of Brandon Broadnax, who was training at LA Fitness at Loop 410 and Blanco Road.

Broadnax was lifting weights when MacWilliams approached from behind and shot him in the back of the head.

During this week’s hearing, the state’s expert who previously found MacWilliams competent to stand trial announced that, based on recent details revealed in court, he now believes MacWilliams is incompetent based on information he did not previously know.

After the doctor overruled him, Judge Joel Perez accepted MacWilliams’ plea of ​​not guilty by reason of insanity. MacWilliams was ordered committed to a state mental hospital where he would undergo regular evaluations.

The plea deal angered Broadnax’s family, who expressed disappointment and disbelief in court.

“You were a coward and decided to go to the gym and kill my brother. “I do not accept this plea of ​​insanity,” Broadnax’s sister said.

“When you went to do this with my husband, you made eye contact,” Broadnax’s widow said directly to MacWilliams. “Why? Why?”

MacWilliams’ commitment to the state hospital means he will be evaluated annually, but he could spend the rest of his life at the facility.

More coverage of this essay on KSAT: