First person convicted under NC’s ‘Britny’s Law.’ What the murder charge means.

Nearly eight years after the murder of Britny Puryear, a law passed in her memory saw its first impact in North Carolina on Thursday.

Puryear, then a 22-year-old woman, was shot to death by her boyfriend in their Fuquay-Varina apartment in 2014, following a history of domestic violence, The News & Observer reported. Her boyfriend of four years, Logan McLean, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 2016.

But now, years later, “Britny’s Law” helped prosecutors convict 46-year-old Brian Sluss of a more severe murder charge in the disappearance of Monica Moynan.

Sluss testified in Wake County Superior Court on Wednesday that he did not kill his ex-girlfriend.

But while Moynan’s body has never been found, a jury found Sluss guilty on Thursday of first-degree murder involving domestic violence.

Moynan, who was 22 when she disappeared in 2019, had two children with Sluss. They met when she was 17 and he was around 37.

Sluss was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without parole.

What is Britny’s Law?

In the wake of Puryear’s death, lawmakers sought to ensure that future cases like hers could see stronger convictions — enacting legislation that would toughen the punishment for defendants in some domestic violence homicides.

While first-degree murder is defined under state law as a “willful, deliberate and premediated killing,” Britny’s Law allows prosecutors to use a history of domestic violence as evidence of premeditation.

The law states that first-degree murder charges can be brought in such cases, as long as the victims are current or former spouses, relationship partners, or people with whom the alleged killer shares a child.

It is intended to prevent defendants with past domestic violence offenses from arguing they killed their partner in the heat of the moment.

Those offenses include an act of domestic violence, a domestic violence protective order or the violation of one, making threats, stalking, cyberstalking and criminal trespassing.

First-degree murder carries harsher punishments than second-degree murder, bringing a maximum penalty of death or life-without-parole.

Britny’s Law was signed into law by Gov. Roy Cooper in 2017, after passing nearly unanimously through the North Carolina General Assembly.

“If Britny’s Law helps one family not lose a loved one, make sure that the murderer never gets out, then all of our time and efforts are working,” said Stephen Puryear, Britny Puryear’s father, at the bill-signing ceremony.

The law came about after efforts by the Puryear family.

“Britny’s family watched her killer plead guilty to second-degree murder, escaping a first-degree murder conviction,” Cooper said at the bill-signing. “They decided to use their tragic and painful experience to ensure better justice for future victims and their families.”

Holly Springs murder trial

Sluss was the first person to be charged with first-degree murder involving domestic violence under Britny’s Law, according to prosecutors.

Moynan, who was reported missing in July 2019, had filed a protective order against Sluss two years earlier after they had broken up, The N&O previously reported.

Prosecutors said they believed Moynan was killed on or around April 7, 2019, but Sluss claimed she disappeared around Father’s Day in June, stating he saw her that night and she said, “I just can’t do this right now,” before exiting their Holly Springs home.

During his Wednesday testimony, Sluss confirmed he had used Moynan’s phone and social media accounts after her disappearance to make friends and family believe she was still alive.

The prosecution alleged that Sluss exhibited abusive and sexually predatory behavior, noting he was roughly 20 years older than Moynan and had initially lied to her about his age. Prosecutors questioned his morals as a father, his judgment, his relationship decisions and the truth of his statements.

The defense has argued that Moynan was an “absent” mother who “walked out on him and his girls,” said Tommy Manning, Sluss’ attorney.

Jarlyn Sluss, Brian Sluss’ ex-wife, was charged in 2020 in connection with accessory after the fact to first-degree murder and obstruction of justice for allegedly helping Sluss by pretending to be Moynan on the phone to fool an apartment manager.

This story was originally published April 28, 2022 at 3:40 PM.