Jefferson City man accused of 2019 Thanksgiving murders pleads guilty
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
A man who was accused of killing two people on Thanksgiving in 2019 has pleaded guilty to murder.
Torry A. Upchurch, 30, pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder, according to the Cole County prosecutor Locke Thompson.
Upchurch was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and six other felonies. Thompson said prosecutors dropped the other felonies as part of the plea agreement. Thompson told ABC 17 News he planned to recommend two consecutive life sentences for Upchurch.
In November 2019, Upchurch allegedly went to police wearing bloody clothes and admitted that he knew he had "just committed two murders," according to court documents.
A probable cause statement says Upchurch first knocked on the door to an apartment in the 1300 block of West McCarty Street and shot the person who opened the door, 17-year-old Earle Key, in the face with a 9 mm handgun. The two knew each other, police say.
Upchurch then allegedly shot 33-year-old Shantae Hill-Cook multiple times in a vehicle at 2300 block of Southridge Drive. Police say Upchurch told her to stay in the car before firing.
A witness told police Upchurch drove the woman's car from the scene. Court documents say he later showed up at the police station and told people in the lobby about details of the killings.
Upchurch was moved from the Cole County Jail to the Missouri Department of Corrections in December 2019.
