Share and Follow
Inset: Megan Thomas (Wilkes County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The area in North Carolina where Megan Thomas lives in Moravian Falls, where she allegedly shot and killed her boyfriend (Google Maps).
Early one morning in North Carolina, a woman reportedly shot her boyfriend multiple times with a shotgun, later telling authorities the incident occurred while she was cleaning the firearm. The incident, which took place at 5 a.m., has resulted in her being charged with first-degree murder.
Megan Thomas, 39, is accused of fatally shooting her 41-year-old boyfriend, Jason Olney, in her Moravian Falls home, according to official documents from the Wilkes County Sheriff’s Office. Olney was a resident of North Wilkesboro.
According to records accessed by the Wilkes Journal-Patriot, Thomas contacted 911 after the shooting, asserting that the gun discharged accidentally while she was cleaning it.
Authorities, however, have a different perspective on the events.
In a magistrate’s order, the sheriff’s office stated that Thomas acted unlawfully and with premeditated intent in the killing of Jason Olney.
Sheriff’s deputies responded to Thomas’ home at 183 Dogwood Road in Moravian Falls, which is about 80 miles north of Charlotte, around 5:09 a.m. Tuesday. They found Olney dead inside with multiple gunshot wounds; a neighbor reported hearing at least three blasts, according to police.
Thomas was taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder. A release order filed Tuesday says she is being held without bond until a district court judge can decide on whether she should be released.
“Based on the available information, taking into account the nature and circumstances of the offense charged, the weight of the evidence against the defendant … there is rebuttable presumption against pretrial release,” the order says, describing the shooting of Olney as a “violent offense,” per the document.
“The defendant does not have family ties to the area, is currently unemployed [and] does not have current financial resources,” the document adds. “It is not known about mental conditions; has no prior criminal history.”
Thomas is due to appear in Wilkes County District Court on Wednesday.