An Illinois woman who shot her boyfriend in the back during an argument was sentenced to decades in prison.
Tnashia Wash, 20, was a teenager when she fired six shots at Roderick Richardson, 30, on October 16, 2023. According to the Peoria County State’s Attorney’s Office, Wash told police she shot Richardson in self-defense. She and her child had been staying at Richardson’s house at the time, and the couple had a disagreement about their relationship. Wash claimed Richardson threatened to shoot her and her child, so she took his gun and fired six shots when he “charged” at them.
But an autopsy on Richardson revealed that four of those shots struck him in the back.
According to prosecutors, the coroner determined that the four shots to the back that killed Richardson were not fired from close range. Wash’s gunshot wounds did not support his claim of self-defense.
Wash eventually pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in June, just days before her scheduled trial. Because of her youth at the time of the crime, Chief Judge Katherine Gorman sentenced Wash to 31 years in prison. She may be eligible for parole after 20 years.
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Prosecutors stated that Richardson’s mother wrote a letter that was read during the sentencing hearing, describing the “unimaginable pain of having to bury her son.” Richardson’s mother claimed that Wash “didn’t just take her son’s life, but shattered their family and left a permanent hole that can never be repaired.”
