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).
A North Carolina woman blew her boyfriend away with multiple shotgun blasts, then called 911 and tried telling cops she was cleaning the weapon when it went off at 5 a.m., according to police. The girlfriend is facing a first-degree murder charge.
Megan Thomas, 39, shot and killed her boyfriend Jason Olney, 41, of North Wilkesboro, at her residence in Moravian Falls on Tuesday morning, according to court documents filed by the Wilkes County Sheriff’s Office.
Records obtained by the Wilkes Journal-Patriot describe how Thomas called police herself after killing Olney. She allegedly claimed that she shot him while cleaning a shotgun inside of her home.
Police, however, view the shooting very differently.
“The defendant unlawfully, willfully, and feloniously did of malice aforethought kill and murder Jason Olney,” the sheriff’s office wrote in a magistrate’s order.
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.
