Bryan Anthony James pleaded no contest to second-degree murder in the death of his wife, Ashley James, according to court records from Washtenaw County. The plea comes years after the July 2019 shooting that left the 31-year-old dead in the couple's Ypsilanti Township home.
Background
James fatally shot Ashley James with a .40-caliber handgun in the early morning hours of July 11, 2019, after she returned from the bathroom to their bedroom. According to prosecutors, he told investigators he believed she was an intruder — a defense that would draw comparisons to South African Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius, who was convicted of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp while claiming he mistook her for an intruder.
The couple had been together for 13 years and married for five. They had two children together. Detectives testified during the original 2022 trial that James made suspicious internet searches before the killing, including a June 3, 2019 query about Pistorius's case — the athlete nicknamed Blade Runner for his carbon fiber prosthetic racing blades.
Jurors reached a verdict in 2022, but a Michigan judge tossed it before it could be read in open court because the jury had mistakenly received evidence not presented at trial during deliberations. The case then proceeded toward a new trial date set for next month on an open murder charge — until James entered his no contest plea.
The Charges
James was charged with second-degree murder and pleaded no contest to that count. Washtenaw County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Lou Danner laid out the prosecution's theory during closing arguments in the 2022 trial, telling jurors that Ashley sustained a single gunshot wound to her chest that went through her heart, lungs, liver and spleen before exiting her body.
"She fell back and said, 'Babe, you shot me,' before dying on the floor a minute later," Danner said, according to MLive. The prosecutor noted that based on the trajectory of the wound, Ashley appeared to be ducking out of the way when she was shot.
The prosecution maintained that James felt trapped in his marriage and killed Ashley to avoid getting caught up in a divorce or custody battle over their two children. Danner told jurors that less than a month after the murder, James started a new Tinder profile, and he collected $70,000 in life insurance money following her death.
"The price of him starting a new life was Ashley's life," Danner reportedly said. "He was researching the case in order to plan how to act after killing his wife, and to avoid Pistorius' mistakes."
Defense attorney Adam Clements maintained throughout proceedings that Ashley's death was a tragic accident, characterizing the state's case as "cherry picking" evidence.
"My client did not stand to gain anything here," Clements said, according to MLive. "They had a fairytale marriage and were soulmates."
Key Takeaways
- Bryan Anthony James pleaded no contest to second-degree murder in the July 11, 2019 shooting death of his wife Ashley James in Ypsilanti Township, Michigan
- He allegedly told police he thought Ashley was an intruder when he shot her — a defense similar to Oscar Pistorius, who researched his own case before killing Reeva Steenkamp
- Detectives testified that James searched for information about the Pistorius case on June 3, 2019 — weeks before the shooting
- Prosecutors said James collected $70,000 in life insurance and created a Tinder profile within a month of Ashley's death
- The original 2022 trial ended in a mistrial after jurors received evidence not presented during proceedings
- The couple had been married for five years and had two children together
What's Next
James is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 19 before a Washtenaw County Circuit Court judge. He faces up to life in prison on the second-degree murder conviction.