At a pretrial hearing in Superior Court on Monday, the man accused of fatally shooting his ex-girlfriend in the parking lot of a St. Thomas shopping center admitted his guilt. The judge presiding over the case of accused murderer Justin Matthews accepted the change of plea and set a Nov. 12 sentencing date.
Matthews was charged with 11 felony counts for the Sept. 4, 2021, death of Keoner Baron, 20. Superior Court Judge Denise Francois granted the defendant’s request to plead guilty to a single charge of second-degree murder related to domestic violence.
The defendant signaled his intent to plead guilty in late July; Monday’s hearing could be seen as a formality.
Under the deal, Matthews will be sentenced to 50 years behind bars and pay a $5,000 fine.
Assistant Attorney General Ziska Anderson asked the court to drop the remaining charges of first-degree murder, reckless endangerment, assault, and unauthorized use of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime.
As part of the change of plea proceeding, the prosecutor said had the case gone to trial the government would have been able to prove that Matthews ran up to Baron in the parking lot at the Home Depot and fired several shots, striking her multiple times.
Baron was transported to the Roy L. Schneider Hospital, where she died about two hours after the shooting.
