In the winter of 2016, a 22-year-old Black woman named Katja Allen was tragically killed in Greenwood, Mississippi. On the evening of Valentine's Day, February 14th, the Greenwood Police Department received a call reporting gunshots on South Avenue. When officers arrived at the scene, they discovered Allen suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. She was immediately transported to the University Medical Center in Jackson for emergency medical care.
Despite the efforts of medical professionals, she succumbed to her injuries just over a month later.
The investigation into the shooting quickly identified a suspect: Allen's boyfriend, Generio Harris. According to statements Allen provided to law enforcement before she passed away, Harris had come to the residence and demanded that she leave with him. When Allen refused his demands, he shot her multiple times. A harrowing detail emerged from a witness who was present during the incident; another woman had hidden in a closet and called the police, reporting that Harris was still at the location. When the police returned, they found Harris attempting to put Allen into his vehicle to take her to the hospital.
Initially, Harris was charged with attempted first-degree murder for the violent assault on his girlfriend. However, following Allen's death, the charges against him were upgraded to first-degree murder. The case proceeded through the legal system, and in July 2017, Generio Harris, then 25 years old, chose to plead guilty to the crime of second-degree murder before a judge in the LeFlore County Circuit Court. As a result of his guilty plea, he was sentenced to 30 years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. The terms of his sentence stipulate that he will serve the entirety of the 30 years without the possibility of early release or parole.
