A grieving mother spoke harsh words Tuesday to the Lawrence teen who killed her daughter while driving drunk.

“You will always be a drunk, a coward and a killer,” Mary Ruth Coulter, Chanute, told 18-year-old Ashleigh Juola during Juola’s sentencing in Douglas County District Court on an involuntary manslaughter charge.

Judge Jack Murphy sentenced Juola to three years’ probation, including six months at a boot camp in Labette County. Juola also will be required to avoid alcohol and drugs and attend weekly Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

Juola pleaded no contest earlier this month to charges she ran over 24-year-old Lawrence social worker Heather Coulter on Sept. 18 while driving with a blood-alcohol level of .12. The legal limit is .08.

Coulter, who worked for a foster-care service, was standing by her stalled car at the intersection of 19th and Iowa Streets when Juola struck her. She died several days later at KU Med, Kansas City, Kan.

“I can’t hold my head high,” Juola said as she read to the courtroom from a poem she wrote. “I want to say I’m sorry a hundred thousand times.”

More than a dozen of Coulter’s friends and family members sat in the courtroom. Juola didn’t look at them as she apologized, and Coulter’s parents didn’t seem swayed by her remarks.

“You don’t even know the person that you killed,” said Mary Coulter.

At one point, Heather Coulter’s father, Richard, held up a photo of his daughter and then a photo of her taken after the collision. Juola looked away and put a hand to her head.

¢ Teen pleads no contest in manslaughter (2-11-03)¢ Friends remember life of slain social worker (10-27-02)

Juola’s attorney, Tim Riling, said his client relives the collision often in nightmares, a sign of post-traumatic stress disorder, and felt hatred toward herself. He said she spent time in jail reading letters written by Coulter’s friends and family, who described her as a generous person who cared about children.

In addition to the manslaughter charge, Juola pleaded no contest to driving under the influence and having contraband in a penal institution, a charge that stemmed from her having scissors in the Douglas County Juvenile Detention Center.

Juola was 17 at the time of the wreck, but she agreed to be prosecuted as an adult as part of a plea agreement.

“I think she needs to have guidance and help more than prison,” said David Wehlage, Chanute, Heather Coulter’s cousin, after the sentencing.

On Monday, Juola will be transported to the boot camp. If she doesn’t comply with the terms of her probation, she’ll face a 50-month jail sentence.

“This is a very tragic situation that a young person ended up taking the life of another young person based on a decision to drink and drive,” Assistant Dist. Atty. Bethany Daniels said.