HOUSTON COUNTY, Ga. — A 21-year-old man pleaded guilty on Thursday in the 2021 shooting death of a 77-year-old Perry man, according to Houston County District Attorney William Kendall.
Cornelius Reyshawn Murray was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole for the murder of Willie Jacox.
On July 24, 2021, Jacox was found dead in the driver's seat of his car near the Timber Wood apartments located on Mason Terrace in Perry.
Murray, then 19, and his girlfriend at the time 18-year-old Natajah Culpepper were arrested shortly after the shooting.
At the time of the shooting, Murray was charged with murder and Culpepper was charged as a party to the crime.
Murray said the victim disrespected him in the past, and he was overcome with anger when he shot Jacox, according to the release.
Culpepper said she referred to Jacox as "Pops" and was someone who would help her when she needed money and rides around town.
Culpepper called Jacox that day and asked him to meet her on Mason Terrace.
When the victim arrived, Murray walked up to the driver's side and fired multiple shots into the car, killing Jacox in his car with a 9mm handgun.
Natajah Culpepper's charges as party to a crime remain pending. Murray will be eligible for parole after 30 years.
"We will continue to seek justice for other families, like the Jacox family, in the work we do," DA William Kendall said. "This defendant chose to make a malicious, irrevocable decision that resulted in the permanent loss of a beloved family member and, to the defendant's own detriment, prison for the next 30 years or more. Although we cannot undo what has been done, we hoped to have provided the family with some help in finding closure. "