In the quiet city of Jefferson City, Missouri, the life of 33-year-old Shantae Nicole Hill-Cook was tragically cut short on Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 2019. A certified medical technician and a loving mother to her children, Shantae was a graduate of Fulton High School and had attended Moberly Area Community College and Columbia College. Her unexpected and violent death sent ripples of shock and grief through her community and family.
On that fateful evening, the Jefferson City
Police Department responded to a call at an apartment complex on Southridge Drive. There, they discovered Shantae's body in the parking lot; she had sustained multiple gunshot wounds. The investigation into her death quickly focused on 27-year-old Torry Andre Upchurch, with whom Shantae had been in a romantic relationship for a few months. According to a witness, an argument had erupted between the couple just before the shooting. Upchurch reportedly fled the scene in Shantae's car.
The events of that Thanksgiving Day had been doubly tragic. Earlier, around 6:00 p.m., Upchurch had gone to the West McCarty Street apartment of 17-year-old Earle Key Jr. When the teenager answered the door, Upchurch shot him, ending his life. The connection between Upchurch and Key was not immediately made public, but the violence of the act left another family in mourning.
In a bizarre turn of events, Torry Upchurch walked into the Jefferson City Police Department later that day. His clothes were covered in blood, and he reportedly confessed to the two murders to people in the lobby. He was promptly taken into custody, bringing a swift, if unsettling, end to the manhunt.
The legal proceedings that followed brought a measure of closure to the grieving families. Torry Upchurch was charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Shantae Hill-Cook and Earle Key Jr. He later pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder. During a poignant sentencing hearing, family members of both victims had the opportunity to address Upchurch. The defense presented testimony from a psychiatrist who stated that Upchurch suffered from several mental health issues. Ultimately, Cole County Circuit Judge Cotton Walker sentenced Torry Upchurch to two consecutive life sentences, ensuring that he would be held accountable for the devastating loss of two lives.
