Former 'Jerry Springer' Producer Sentenced to Prison for Death of Sister in Burning Garage

A former producer for The Jerry Springer Show was sentenced to eight years in prison in the 2015 death of her sister. Jill Blackstone, 59, was arrested in April 2018 and pleaded no contest Wednesday to voluntary manslaughter. She also pleaded no contest to three felony counts of animal cruelty involving three dogs, reports the Los Angeles Daily News.

When Blackstone was arrested, Los Angeles police homicide detectives said they believed she was frustrated with providing her sister Wendy Blackstone, 49, with long-term care and the financial hardship that came with the responsibilities. After Wendy's death in March 2015, Blackstone told police Wend had severe vision loss and hearing loss. She told the police she would never hurt her sister.

Wendy died in a garage that was set on fire. Blackstone originally told police she used a charcoal barbecue to make burgers, then fell in the driveway. She called a friend and claimed she had suffered a stroke because she could not walk. Police said Blackstone set the garage on fire purposefully and made it look like an accident. Two of the dogs in the garage with Wendy also died.

Blackstone's attorney, Danny Davis, said his client pleaded no contest "clearly to abate her exposure to dying" behind bars, adding that "we didn't really have a solid proof of cause of death." Blackstone has Parkinson's disease and Lupus and uses a wheelchair, Davids said.

Davis also disputed the coroner's office's conclusion that Wendy died from inhalation of combustion and alprazolam. He also noted that prosecutors waited three years to file charges against Blackstone, and claimed evidence was collected and analyzed was destroyed before the prosecution finally filed the case.

Blackstone initially pleaded not guilty in 2018. In 2019, a Los Angeles police detective testified that they found a note Blackstone wrote that was found in Wendy's hand. They also found notes taped to a trash can, including one reading "enter carefully" and another reading "both parties have do not resuscitate orders." The defense argued that the prosecution still didn't have enough evidence, but the judge still ruled that Blackstone should have to stand trial on a murder charge. She could have been sentenced to life in prison if convicted. The murder charge was dismissed when she agreed to plead no contest to the manslaughter charge. Blackstone has been in prison since she was arrested in April 2018.

Blackstone served as a producer on The Jerry Springer Show in the early 1990s, according to her IMDb page. She was also an executive producer on Divorce Court, The Tony Danza Show, and Pat Croce Moving In. Her last credit is as an executive producer on Family Court with Judge Penny in 2008 and 2009.