Joseph McCoy blamed another man for the breakup of his relationship with Jacqueline Hoyle.
When she refused to identify the man to McCoy, he targeted her instead, Assistant Prosecutor Kathleen Robinson told jurors late Monday morning, just hours before they found McCoy guilty of murder.
The night before Hoyle was found fatally shot inside the Atlantic City apartment the couple shared, McCoy demanded to know who the man was, according to text messages shown to jurors at his murder trial.
He warned Hoyle he was serious and told her that "u pushed to da point of no return..."
That was sent at 10:11 p.m. Dec. 19, 2016. Just more than six hours later, Hoyle was found bleeding from a gunshot wound in the front room of the North Tennessee Avenue apartment the two shared.
She was near the refrigerator underneath a mattress McCoy said he would take because he didn't want her sleeping with another men in the bed he bought.
On Monday, those words helped a jury quickly convict him.
Jurors were set to begin deliberations Monday afternoon. By 4:30 p.m., they had reached their verdict.
“Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Jacqueline Hoyle," Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon Tyner said. "She had her whole life ahead of her, but it was cut short by a jealous, callous killer. While we are optimistic that the defendant will spend the remainder of his pathetic existence behind bars, Ms. Hoyle’s loved ones will be left with the legacy of her friendship. Her absence is the scar that remains as a result of domestic violence.”
McCoy, 45, has been jailed since January 2017, when he was arrested in North Carolina, where he fled after the killing.
“If you find a gap that can’t be explained, that’s reasonable doubt,” defense attorney Stephen Patrick told jurors.
They apparently found no gaps. Nor did they find reason to convict him of the lesser charges of aggravated or reckless manslaughter.
Before the jury was brought in to the courtroom Monday, Superior Court Judge Donna Taylor ruled that the jurors could not find McCoy guilty of passion provocation, which finds that a killing is done in the heat of passion after a “reasonable provocation.”
“It’s hard to determine when the provocation was,” Taylor said, adding that the texts suggest there was time for a cooling off period.
McCoy also addressed the judge without the jurors in the courtroom, saying his attorney had not "advanced my arguments."
He questioned evidence that was presented to the grand jury and admissibility of certain testimony. Taylor said his statements were noted.
Sentencing is set for June 6.
