Rock Hill man pleads guilty in murder of estranged wife who was a beloved nurse
A Rock Hill man has been sentenced to 30 years in a South Carolina prison after pleading guilty to murder in the shooting death of his estranged wife.
Christopher Jemayne Taylor, 50, pleaded guilty late Monday in York County criminal court for the 2020 death of Julie Taylor, according to prosecutors and court records.
Julie Taylor, a beloved nurse at Piedmont Medical Center, was found shot to death in her Winding Way townhouse in Rock Hill in January 2020. Christopher Taylor was arrested shortly afterward and has been in jail ever since.
Julie Taylor, who was 48 at the time of her death, worked at the Rock Hill hospital and at area medical practices for more than two decades.
Defendant had restraining order against him
Court records show that two days before Julie Taylor was killed, a judge issued a restraining order against Christopher Taylor.
Christopher Taylor was accused of violence against Julie Taylor during a divorce that had been going on since 2019. Christopher Taylor was barred by the court order from going to his wife’s home, but is now convicted of going to her house and killing her.
Taylor bought a gun from a pawn shop four days before the murder, prosecutors said. Witnesses saw his Porsche car at the victim’s home the day of the killing, and his clothes and car tested positive for gunshot residue, 16th Circuit Deputy Solicitor John Anthony said.
Julie Taylor was found on a living room couch shot twice in the head, prosecutors said.
Defendant does not have to admit guilt
Christopher Taylor pleaded guilty in what is called an Alford plea, court records show.
In an Alford plea, a defendant does not have to admit guilt but accepts that if the case went to trial he would likely be found guilty, according to prosecutors. For sentencing, an Alford plea is treated the same as a guilty plea, South Carolina law shows.
A murder conviction in South Carolina carries a sentence of 30 years to life in prison.
Taylor is not eligible for parole.
