COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A Roseland man is accused of murdering his fiancee in front of the couple's 10-year-old daughter — and then threatening to kill the girl for being a witness.
The girl eventually convinced her father she was "on his side" and before she ran to a nearby aunt's house for help, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Terrance Meredith, 43, now faces charges of first-degree murder. Cook County Judge James Brown denied Meredith bail during a bond hearing Tuesday.
Meredith and his fiancee, 35-year-old Otha Mooney, were arguing inside their Roseland home in the 100 block of West 112th Place about 12:30 a.m. Monday when Meredith grabbed a butcher's knife, police and prosecutors said.
Mooney locked herself and their 10-year-old daughter inside a bedroom, Assistant State's Attorney Erika Gilliam-Booker said during a bond hearing Tuesday.
Meredith returned with a gun he keeps in a toolbox and demanded car keys from his fiancee, according to Gilliam-Booker. The couple argued, and at one point, Meredith is accused of pointing the gun at Mooney.
Prosecutors say Meredith left the room briefly, at which point Mooney told her daughter that "she was going to go somewhere," Gilliam-Booker said, and told the girl how much she loved her and her siblings.
Meredith soon returned, waving the gun around and demanding to know where the car keys were, Gilliam-Booker said. He then dropped something to the ground, and Mooney reached for the gun, according to prosecutors.
The pair struggled, and Meredith shot Mooney once in front of the 10-year-old, authorities said.
The 10-year-old girl screamed, and Meredith told the girl her mother was just playing, Gilliam-Booker said. But the girl allegedly heard her mother make gagging noises as the woman died.
Meredith then told his daughter he'd have to kill her since she was a witness, Gilliam-Booker said. The girl "convinced her father she was on his side," and Meredith let the girl go to bed.
From there, the girl snuck out and ran to her aunt's house, where she relayed what happened, prosecutors said.
Police found Mooney dead on the scene inside her bedroom, according to authorities. Her body appeared to have been moved, and a small gun — which Meredith admitted to owning — was placed near the woman's hand, prosecutors said.
Officers found 10 live rounds in Meredith's front jacket pocket, prosecutors said. The rounds were a match to a spent shell casing on the scene, and Meredith's hand tested positive for gunshot residue.
According to his public defender, Meredith has done maintenance work for the CTA for the past 20 years.
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