In the early morning hours of November 8, 2019, the life of 27-year-old Joshua Wayne Floyd, a male resident of Tulsa, Oklahoma, was tragically cut short. The events that led to his untimely death unfolded at the East Central Village Apartments, culminating in a violent encounter that would leave one person dead and another facing a murder charge. An argument had reportedly broken out between Floyd and his girlfriend, Maria Jean Barrett, after he expressed a desire for intimacy and she
declined.
The disagreement escalated, and in a moment of anger, Floyd broke a coffee table before leaving the apartment. Feeling threatened, Barrett locked the door behind him. When Floyd attempted to get back inside by kicking the back door, a sense of fear allegedly overcame Barrett. Reaching into her handbag, she retrieved a handgun and fired a single shot through the door. The bullet struck Floyd, inflicting a fatal wound. Although he was rushed to a nearby hospital, medical efforts were in vain, and Joshua Wayne Floyd was pronounced dead.
In the immediate aftermath, Maria Jean Barrett did not contact emergency services. Instead, her first calls were to her mother and a family therapist. When law enforcement arrived, they found no visible injuries on Barrett to support a claim of physical assault by Floyd. Based on the circumstances and the evidence at the scene, police arrested her. Maria Jean Barrett was subsequently charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of her boyfriend. In a jailhouse interview, she expressed deep regret for her actions, stating she never intended to kill Floyd and offered an apology to his family.
While out on bond awaiting trial for the charge of second-degree murder or first-degree manslaughter, Barrett found herself in further legal trouble. In December 2021, she was arrested again, this time for burglary in Tulsa County and for allegedly jumping on a couple's car and breaking the windshield in Catoosa. Prosecutors stated she had also violated her curfew multiple times, leading to her being jailed without bond. Her legal issues continued into October 2022, when she was arrested for being in possession of a stolen Jeep.
