LAWRENCE COUNTY, MO - A man in his sixties is facing a potentially lengthy prison sentence after admitting to fatally shooting an Amazon delivery driver last winter.
The defendant, 65-year-old Thomas Coy, pleaded guilty to one count each of second-degree murder and armed criminal action over the death of 23-year-old Jasmine Taylor in February 2025, Law & Crime reported. The violent incident took place on Lawrence County Road 2152 on February 5, 2025.
On that dreadful day, an Amazon truck was seen crashing into a fence around 4:00 p.m., according to a probable cause statement issued by the Lawrence County Sheriff's Office (LCSO) and reviewed by Ozarks First.
Taylor was behind the wheel of the crashed vehicle. In video provided by Amazon to local law enforcement, the driver is seen slumped over in the driver's seat as the truck travels up a driveway. When questioned by investigators, the defendant confessed and added several details about the fatal incident.
"We have determined that, in fact, Mr. Coy saw the Amazon driver going down the road," Lawrence County Sheriff Chris Berry said. "He then retreated back to his home, got his weapon, came back up and waited for the Amazon driver to come back by. And then that's when he shot them."
After that, Coy removed Taylor from the vehicle, dragged her along the road, and left the still-breathing woman in a ditch. The victim had been shot in the head with a pellet rifle, though at first authorities did not realize she had been shot. She was taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors, hours later, told police about the projectile in the woman's head.
Taylor died days later, on February 9, 2025. Coy was charged the day after that. He was initially arrested for assault, which was then upgraded to first-degree murder.
"It's just really sad because there is no sense to what occurred whatsoever," the sheriff said at the time. "It's very emotional because of the senselessness of what occurred. It just makes no sense why someone could be so angry to do something like this." Authorities believe they have a likely motive but have not publicly discussed the specific reason for the violence.
"We have a motive, but we're not going to talk about it just yet," Berry said. Neighbors said that Coy had often complained about the speed of delivery vehicles on the county road. "It's very scary, certainly," the sheriff added. "And it's very, very different. They did not know each other at all. He saw the person going down the road, retreats to his place of residence, retrieved the pellet rifle and then waited for them to come back."
Coy is scheduled to be sentenced on November 2.
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