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Left inset, from left: Jenna Cox, 28, Cyndi Cox and Charles Cox (GoFundMe). Right inset: Isaac Nathaniel Christenbury (WSOC). Background: The home where the murders happened (WSOC).
A North Carolina man who shot his girlfriend a day after she ended their relationship — and also gunned down her parents in front of their 10-year-old grandson — will spend the rest of his life in prison.
Isaac Nathaniel Christenbury, 28, was sentenced to three life terms in prison on Wednesday in the deaths of Jenna Cox, 28, and her parents, Charles and Cyndi Cox, both 61, prosecutors said in a press release. Christenbury was sentenced immediately after pleading guilty to three counts of first-degree murder.
Family members, including the young boy, made statements in court.
In a letter read by the prosecutor’s office, Cyndi Cox’s sister Paula Brown called Christenbury a cold-hearted murderer, the Hickory Daily Record reported.
“I hope he lives that day over and over in his mind,” the statement read. “What he did to [Cyndi Cox] and her only living son and grandson, he shattered their world. They have scars that will never heal. And what that 10-year-old baby saw shows how cold and merciless he is.”
The murders happened on Oct. 22 at a home in Maiden, about 44 miles northeast of Charlotte.
The defendant shot and killed Charles Cox and Cyndi Cox as Jenna Cox’s son looked on. The defendant put the gun to the boy’s head but let him go. Christenbury then took Jenna Cox out of the home.
The boy ran to a neighbor who called 911.
“The next thing I know, the little boy came up between mine and my husband’s car, up to the walk, grabbing a hold of me, telling me his grandparents just got shot in the head and killed,” the neighbor told local NBC affiliate WCNC then.
At the home, first responders found a trail of blood leading to a set of stairs along with shell casings, a firearm magazine and numerous bullet holes, prosecutors said. The body of Charles Cox was found at the top of the stairs. His wife’s body was found in the dining room. Both had been shot multiple times, including to the head. The body of Jenna Cox was found outside near a swimming pool. She, too, had been shot multiple times, including to the head.
Christenbury also called 911 while fleeing.
“In that call, the defendant stated he drove away from the scene, acknowledged that there was a shooting and that he would like to turn himself in,” 36th Prosecutorial Assistant District Attorney Howard Wellons said. “The defendant stated, ‘I feel bad for what I did, but I don’t feel bad for why I did it. I need help.””
In custody, Christenbury told investigators he left work that day, drove to the residence, and shot and killed all three victims. The defendant’s parents told investigators Cox had broken off the relationship with Christenbury the previous day and revealed that his phone showed him near the scene at the time of the shooting.
Prosecutors acknowledged the bravery of the boy for testifying in court about what the defendant took away from him by killing his mother and grandparents.
“You have a strength I could only hope to have,” Mecklenburg County Superior Court Judge Donald R. Cureton told the boy. “I hope you become the best version of yourself that you can become, not only for yourself but those who lost their lives by such a horrible, horrible act.”