A Fairfield woman charged with murder entered a guilty plea to a lesser charge of manslaughter Monday morning in 77th District Court and has been sentenced to serve 15 years in prison.

Bulah Manning, 55, was charged in the Jan. 24, 2009, stabbing death of Van Dorham, 57, of Fairfield.

County Attorney Chris Martin reports that Manning entered a guilty plea to a lesser charge on which the victim’s family agreed.

A jury trial was scheduled to commence Monday, the jury was qualified when the proceedings were recessed and the plea entered.

The agreement calls for the defendant to serve 15 years in prison concurrently with two other felony charges on which 15-year prison sentences were assessed.

At the time of the murder, Manning was serving probation on two felony convictions for manufacture or delivery of cocaine.

Dorham was stabbed in the upper left chest at a residence on S. Church Street and was taken by private vehicle to East Texas Medical Center where he died shortly after arrival.

Fairfield police reported at the time of the fatal assault that the victim and Manning lived together at the residence.

The defendant was arrested by police shortly after the assault and bond was set at $1 million.

Manning was indicted on a murder charge by the Freestone county grand jury in February 2009.

The assault was investigated by former FPD Officer Matt Foree, Sgt. Larry Warren and Texas Ranger Jim Huggins.

“My office would like to thank the Fairfield Police Department for their hard work in the investigation, specifically Sgt. Warren, former Officer Foree and Ranger Huggins,” Martin says.