MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Shelby County judge has sentenced Jonathan Brush to six years in prison following his conviction in the 2022 stabbing death of Memphis chef Jody Moyt.
Criminal Court Judge Chris Craft imposed the sentence on June 26 after a Shelby County jury convicted Brush of Voluntary Manslaughter on May 16, 2026.
The conviction stemmed from the April 24, 2022, fatal stabbing of Moyt following a traffic-related confrontation on Sam Cooper Boulevard.
According to evidence presented during the trial, Brush stabbed Moyt multiple times, inflicting injuries that proved fatal.
During the sentencing hearing, prosecutors presented testimony from the sister of Daniel McClendon, a man Brush was convicted of killing in 1991 in Destin, Florida.
McClendon’s sister described the impact her brother’s death had on her family. Prosecutors introduced the testimony as evidence of Brush’s prior second-degree murder conviction and his history of violent conduct.
Judge Craft noted that despite Brush’s prior murder conviction, recent changes to Tennessee law limited the sentence the court could impose.
As a result, the maximum sentence available for the voluntary manslaughter conviction was six years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. Brush will be eligible for release after serving 30 percent of his sentence.
Assistant District Attorneys Missy Braham and Matthew Blissitt prosecuted the case and handled the sentencing hearing.
