For more than four years, both sides of the Jonathan McCoy case have emphatically litigated for justice — the Commonwealth seeking answers and culpability in the 2020 death of Trigg County woman Thelma “Ileen” Barnett, the defense ensuring a fair and truthful trial.
Friday morning in Trigg County Circuit Court, those pursuits found finality — when McCoy stepped to the podium, accepted a plea deal from Commonwealth’s Attorney Carrie Ovey-Wiggins, and admitted guilt to three amended charges.
Those charges — complicity to murder, arson in the second degree and burglary in the first degree — come with a suggested penalty of 50 years, to be served consecutively following his current incarceration for his guilt in a prior Lyon County arson case.
Ovey-Wiggins further issued he not be eligible for parole until a minimum 20 years is served, nor did she recommend probation and/or shock.
McCoy’s original charges also included kidnapping leading to a victim’s death, tampering with physical evidence, abuse of a corpse and second-degree persistent felony offender — all of which were dismissed in the plea.
Sources indicate that McCoy and his defense team of Wesley Boyarski, Christy Hiance and Rick Lawniczak agreed to the plea Thursday afternoon — after a mediation last week didn’t bear fruit.
McCoy’s decision, made knowingly and voluntarily, came less than a week after alleged accomplice Keisha Stewart pleaded guilty to amended charges associated with Barnett’s murder.
Her plea with the Commonwealth was conditional upon her providing a truthful, recorded statement to law enforcement, as well as her full cooperation with prosecution, in what was originally set as a joined trial for Stewart and McCoy in mid-February.
McCoy told Circuit Judge Jamus Redd that his counsel was more than prepared to try the case.
Redd accepted his plea, and ordered all parties to reconvene for official sentencing at 1:30 PM March 7 in Cadiz. The trial has naturally been vacated.
Allison Hunter, meanwhile, remains as a serious person of interest in Barnett’s death — and is currently incarcerated in the Christian County Jail. She’s expected to be back in court for a pre-trial conference at 1 PM February 12 on charges of first-degree complicity to burglary, and violation of release conditions.
