Lacey West, a 24-year-old woman from Cherryville, North Carolina, was tragically shot and killed on April 27, 2016. The incident occurred at the home of her boyfriend, Jeffrey Eaker, who was 26 years old at the time. According to reports, the shooting took place around 9:40 p.m. on Black Road. Lacey was rushed to CaroMont Regional Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead. The autopsy revealed that she died from a single bullet to the head fired at close range.
Jeffrey Eaker was immediately taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder. He was reportedly intoxicated to the point that he had to be taken to the hospital. Investigators recovered a revolver believed to be the weapon used in the shooting. Eaker's two young daughters were present in the room at the time of the incident but were unharmed. Eaker claimed that the gun went off accidentally while he was cleaning it, but witnesses and evidence suggested otherwise. He was held at the Gaston County Jail without bond.
The case went to trial, and Eaker's daughter, who was four years old at the time of the shooting, testified against him. Eaker eventually pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison. The tragic death of Lacey West was further compounded by the fact that she had previously lost two young sons. Her four-year-old son, Austin West, drowned in a pool in Mooresville on April 4, 2015, and another child, Jason Medlin, also died at age four in October 2012.
