On a summer day in Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania, the life of 28-year-old Morgan Ashley McGee was tragically cut short. The Black female was shot and killed in her home on July 11, 2017. The devastating event unfolded in what should have been the safety of her own residence, a place she shared with her boyfriend and their young child.
The initial investigation by law enforcement quickly pointed to a domestic violence situation. The circumstances of the shooting were particularly harrowing, as it was discovered that McGee had been shot in the chest while in her one-year-old child's room. The violence of the act was such that the child was spattered with their mother's blood. In a desperate attempt to flee her attacker, a wounded McGee struggled down a hallway towards the front door, leaving a trail of blood that marked her final moments.
Within a day of the fatal shooting, an arrest was made. McGee's boyfriend, 31-year-old Eric T. Jones, was taken into custody and charged with criminal homicide. The investigation by the Pocono Mountain Regional Police Department led to the conclusion that Jones was responsible for her death. The motive behind the shooting was not widely publicized, but the incident was a stark reminder of the potential for lethality in domestic disputes.
As the case proceeded through the legal system, Eric T. Jones ultimately chose to plead no contest to a charge of first-degree murder. This plea came on the day his jury selection was scheduled to begin. In exchange for his plea, the prosecution agreed to withdraw the death penalty. Consequently, Jones was sentenced to a mandatory life sentence in prison without the possibility of parole, ensuring he would be held accountable for the murder of Morgan McGee.
