Teenager pleas guilty in trial

HOUSTON COUNTY, Ga. — On July 24, 2021, 77-year-old Willie Jacox was found dead in the driver seat of his vehicle as a result of multiple gunshot wounds. 19-year-old Cornelius Murray and 17-year-old Natajah Culpepper were both arrested in connection to the crime.

According to a press release from the Houston County District Attorney’s Office, Culpepper plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter on March 3, 2023 and has been sentenced to 25 years in the justice system. She’ll serve 20 in the Department of Corrections.

Culpepper and Cornelius Murray entered the suspicion of Perry Police early on in their initial investigation. Shortly after the shooting of Jacox, neighbors in the Timberwood Apartments, on Mason Terrace, called 911 and “reported hearing multiple gunshots and seeing a male and female leaving the are together on foot.” Patrolling officers stopped Murray and Culpepper, and found a 9mm pistol in a backpack they carried. The release added that “officers smelled gunpowder emanating from the backpack and the shell casings found at the scene match a bullet that remained in the pistol.”

“Murray and Culpepper were brought in for questioning and gave statements implicating their involvement in the shooting,” the release said. “Murray stated that the victim disrespected him in the past and he was overcome by anger when he shot Mr. Jacox.

“Culpepper referred to Jacox as “Pops” and was someone who would help her when she needed money or rides around town. Culpepper called Jacox that day and [asked] him to meet her on Mason Terrace. When Jacox arrived in his vehicle, Murray walked up to the driver side and fired multiple gun shots, killing Mr. Jacox as he sat in his vehicle.”

Murray was recently prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Alicia Gassett of the HoCo District Attorney’s Office. He was charged with Malice Murder, Felony Murder and Aggravated Assault, and was sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole.

Gassett commented on the prosecution of Culpepper as well, whose trial she prosecuted as well.

“At her sentencing, Ms. Culpepper asked the Jacox family to forgive her and showed great remorse for the tragedy that occurred,” Gassett said. “Mr. Jacox was the patriarch of the Jacox family.

“Despite losing their loved one in such a violent way, the Jacox Family spoke words of forgiveness, love, and compassion for Ms. Culpepper. Mr. Murray and Ms. Culpepper are very young and had their whole lives ahead of them. It is unfortunate that they chose to take advantage of a man’s kindness and take his life for senseless reasons.”

District Attorney William Kendall commented on the prosecution of Murray.

“Although our involvement with this case has come to a close, we will continue to seek justice for other families, like the Jacox family, in the work we do,” Kendall said. “This Defendant chose to make a malicious, irrevocable decision that resulted in 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.”

Both Gassett and Kendall thanked the investigations, the courts and members of their office for their work in this trial. Detectives Constance Paige, Quridsha Gilliam and Jason Jones, as well as Captain Heath Dykes of the Perry Police Department, were the primary investigators on this case.

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