Trinity Morley during her arrest (King County Prosecuting Attorney).
A Washington woman who plotted to kill her former boyfriend has been sentenced to prison and ordered to avoid him for the next decade.
Trinity Morley, 20, pleaded guilty last month to first-degree attempted assault with a domestic violence modifier after authorities uncovered her plan to shoot her ex-boyfriend with a shotgun. She was arrested in July 2025, after her parents found a journal detailing the alleged plot. Morley had left home on the night of July 27, 2025, saying she planned to spray-paint houses, but prosecutors said she had a far more “sinister plan” in mind. Her parents searched her room after she left.
That same night, her ex-boyfriend’s father called 911 after spotting “a female standing in his backyard with a rifle dressed in all black and wearing a ski mask.” Authorities later identified the woman as Morley.
Morley’s parents also contacted 911 to report her whereabouts. A week earlier, they had secured an extreme risk protection order against their daughter. Court documents reviewed by Law&Crime said the parents had long been concerned about Morley’s mental health, including previous hospitalizations for “self-harm incidents, including a suicide attempt.”
In the journal, Morley wrote: “I have the gun now, three rounds of slug of buckshot. The shotgun is heavy. He told me that if I don’t hold it right, my arm will get blown off. I have 3 chances to get this right and I don’t want to resort to the knives.”
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Morley was initially unable to obtain a firearm because of Washington’s mandatory “cool-down” period. She later borrowed a shotgun from her boyfriend at the time after telling him she had received “threatening texts.” Believing she needed the weapon for protection, he gave it to her.
After Morley left her ex-boyfriend’s home, sheriff’s deputies tracked her to a nearby dock. She reportedly told officers she was “suicidal” while holding the shotgun to her chin. Following a brief standoff, Morley dropped the gun and a knife before deputies arrested her.
After being advised of her rights, Morley admitted that she had intended to kill her ex-boyfriend and then take her own life, according to court documents. Prosecutors said that despite previously describing herself as suicidal, she was “smiling, rolling her eyes, and even chuckling” as deputies processed her arrest.
Morley said her former boyfriend had sexually assaulted her, but no charges were filed after she reported the alleged incident. Prosecutors said detectives closed the case after determining the claims were “unfounded.”
On Friday, Morley received a sentence of 17 months in prison followed by 36 months of supervised release. The court also prohibited her from contacting or approaching her ex-boyfriend for 10 years.
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