An Urbancrest man who pleaded guilty to his role in the June 2021 strangulation death of a Columbus mother of three has been sentenced in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.
Higle Mire pleaded guilty on Feb. 22, 2023, to involuntary manslaughter, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse in the death of 21-year-old Jenay Crowley. As part of the plea, Mire agreed to testify against a North Carolina woman who was a codefendant in the case before he would be sentenced.
On May 27, 2026, Common Pleas Court Judge Richard Brown sentenced Mire to 10 to 15 years in prison.
The following story on the case initially published on July 29, 2023.
N.C. woman pleads guilty in 2021 strangulation death of Columbus woman
A North Carolina woman involved in the 2021 strangulation death and burning of Columbus woman took a plea deal from prosecutors and now faces the possibility of up to 21 ½ years in prison.
Tiffany Reid, 27, of Greensboro, N.C., pleaded guilty Thursday in Franklin County Common Pleas Court to four charges — involuntary manslaughter, felonious assault, gross abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence. In exchange for guilty pleas, prosecutors dropped a murder charge.
A mother of three, Jenay Crawley, 23, of the West Side, was strangled to death the evening of June 14, 2021, in her Station Road apartment and suffered other injuries before she died, according to Franklin County officials. Local firefighters responding to reports of a bush fire around 10:45 p.m. that day found her remains being burned in a grassy field near Urbancrest.
Higle Mire, 24, of Urbancrest, also pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence. His sentencing is pending.
Authorities also recently arrested a third codefendant, Yussuf Yussuf, 27, who prosecutors said lived at the same address as Crawley, and charged him with aggravated murder, murder, tampering with evidence, abuse of a course and having weapons while under disability. His arraignment is scheduled for July 7.
Reid, who was staying with Crawley, was told to leave the apartment with Crawley’s 1-year-old child and to not return until she was called to do so, Assistant Prosecutor Cory Helffrich said Thursday in court. During that time, Helffrich alleged, Reid went to several local shops and bought items for the disposal of Crawley’s body.
Helffrich alleged Reid admitted to knowing when the homicide would take place and to being part of the planning process, including luring the victim.
Reid’s sentencing is currently pending.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Urbancrest man Higle Mire sentenced in woman’s 2021 strangulation
Reporting by Bethany Bruner, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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