Woman convicted in Loretta Saunders murder files for appeal

Victoria Henneberry, 28, is escorted into a Halifax court, on Feb. 28, 2014. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mike Dembeck)

One of two people who pleaded guilty in the death of a Nova Scotia university student is appealing her conviction, the Nova Scotia Prosecution Service has confirmed.

In April, Victoria Henneberry pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of 26-year-old Loretta Saunders.

Upon conviction, Henneberry received an automatic sentence of life with no chance parole for 10 years.

In a notice of appeal filed this week, Henneberry said she wasn’t in the right mindset when she pleaded guilty.

Blake Leggette pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the Saunders case, which carries an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years.

Leggette and Henneberry switched their pleas to guilty on the day their trial was set to begin.

Saunders was killed on Feb. 13 2014, as she attempted to collect rent money from the couple. Her body was found days later alongside a highway in Salisbury, N.B.

Saunders was a student at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, where her academic work focused on missing and murdered aboriginal women.

An undated photo of Loretta Saunders