The death of a woman in the early morning hours during a home invasion horrified the city of Chesapeake, Maryland in November 2009. Terri McCoy, her parents and her partner were inside the house when four teenagers broke in with the intention of robbing them. She got caught up in the invasion and one of the invaders shot her down immediately. Murder Comes To Town: The Dangers of Success on Investigation Discovery meticulously examines every detail and perspective of the case, showing viewers exactly what happened in the early hours of that crucial day that forever changed the McCoy family. . We have the information you need if you are interested in the case and want to know who committed the crime and where he is now. So let’s start.
Murder of Terri McCoy
How did Terri McCoy die?
The McCoy family was sleeping inside their home at 3700 Augustine Herman Highway on November 4, 2009, when four armed and disguised teenagers arrived around 1 a.m. Terry McCoy, 63, was woken up by the commotion and at first thought it might have been her daughter Terri Ann McCoy who was falling from a state of low blood sugar. He tried to keep the door to his bedroom, which he shared with his wife Geraldine McCoy, 62, closed when he saw masked boys with guns and realized it was someone who broke into his house. However, he was outmatched and one of the invaders pistol-whipped Terry, permanently damaging his eye. Three intruders quickly burst in, and one of them held a terrified and frightened Geraldine at gunpoint. Terry was brought to the living room by the other two burglars, who were looking for money and jewelry.
Terri Ann McCoy, the couple’s 40-year-old daughter, was woken up by all the heckling and came downstairs to find out what was going on so late at night. On the second-floor landing, Terri was shot five times by the fourth invader, who was posted at the kitchen door keeping watch. Terry had been forced to open the safes by the invaders, then lay face down. Terry heard gunshots while on the ground, but he had no idea his own daughter had been shot.
The burglars broke in, stole jewelry worth $500,000, then fled after emptying the safe. As the burglars fled, Terri’s girlfriend of 10 years, Tara McCoy, 33, came to her aid. Terry allegedly heard his daughter say, “I’m dying” as she rushed towards her. Terri was pronounced dead from multiple gunshot wounds at Christiana Hospital in Delaware after emergency personnel alerted authorities and brought her there.
Who Killed Terri McCoy?
Seth Dallas Jedlicka, the youngest member of the group at the time and aged 16, simply wore war paint while the other three intruders wore ski masks. Geraldine took that risk by carefully observing Seth’s face and memorizing every feature despite being in the midst of a fatal home invasion. According to court documents, she swore to memorize the face with such precision that she later helped detectives create an exact composite drawing of Seth. Investigators found four suspects in the home invasion using this and tracking jewelry the intruders sold for $30,000 to a Philadelphia jeweler, one of whom was Seth of Middletown.
Seth was missing when authorities raided his home in February 2010 and, according to reports, his family did not know his whereabouts. Miami, Florida police arrested Seth and another of the four suspects on March 15, 2010. Seth allegedly became involved on March 24, 2010, while talking on a phone that was recorded in the county jail. Seth was apparently named as a participant by 6 witnesses. Seth was convicted of Terri’s murder and robbery thanks to all that supporting evidence and the help of one of the invaders who took a plea deal.
Where is Seth Jedlicka today?
Seth was accused of being the meanest and most abusive throughout the trial by the McCoy family, even as the victim was on the ground after being shot multiple times. As he took out valuables from the bedroom safe, he gave a “cocky smile”. The couple’s other daughter, VanCulin, even claimed that Seth stripped his father of his dignity by parading him around the house in nothing but his underwear. The state sought a murder conviction rather than claim Seth was the shooter. He was convicted of theft over $100,000, armed robbery, first degree burglary, use of a handgun in the commission of a felony, first degree assault, first degree murder and conspiracy to commit the substantive offences. The court noted that his flight to Florida was an admission of “consciousness of his own guilt”. Seth was sentenced to life for first-degree murder by visiting Judge Christian M. Kahl, but all but 60 were later suspended. The court sentenced Seth to a total of 60 additional years in prison for the other offenses, which would run concurrently with his murder conviction.
He is currently being held at North Branch Correctional Institution in Cumberland, according to court documents, where he must serve his full sentence – at least 30 years – before being eligible for parole. Seth appealed his sentence reduction on August 29, 2017, but his appeal was denied.
