A 43-year-old St. Louis man has admitted to killing his ex-girlfriend in 2024, ending a case that has hung over her family for nearly two years. On Monday, Julius Massey accepted a plea deal for the shooting death of 48-year-old Payton Winston, with a judge handing down consecutive prison terms that add up to 20 years: 17 years on a reduced murder charge and three years for armed criminal action. Winston’s relatives, including her daughter, filled the courtroom and spoke about how their lives have been upended by her death. The plea deal closes the door on what could have been a long, contested trial over the March 2024 killing.
According to FOX2, Massey was initially charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action after Winston was shot and killed on March 13, 2024. As part of the plea agreement, the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office reduced the murder count to second-degree. Prosecutors and defense attorneys outlined the negotiated terms in open court, and the judge’s ruling will be reflected in the formal judgment and sentencing order.
Scene and victim
Police were called around 8 p.m. on March 13, 2024, to the 4600 block of Pope Avenue in the O’Fallon neighborhood. Officers found a woman suffering from gunshot wounds inside a home, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s homicide tracker. The Post-Dispatch identifies her as Payton Winston, age 48, and includes the killing in its 2024 homicide database, documenting the location and timing that investigators released in the early stages of the case.
What prosecutors say
Authorities told FOX2 that Massey and Winston had been drinking and arguing at another person’s home shortly before the shooting. Prosecutors said Massey shot Winston twice in the head in a bathroom. Judge Paula P. Bryant imposed a 17-year sentence for the second-degree murder conviction and a separate three-year sentence for armed criminal action, to be served back to back. Winston’s daughter addressed the court and described how life without her mother has been painful and difficult, according to courtroom accounts.
Legal details
Missouri law treats first-degree murder as more severely punishable than second-degree murder. By pleading to the reduced charge, Massey agreed to a set period in prison instead of facing the possibility of a longer term or an uncertain verdict at trial. Prosecutors typically balance factors such as the strength of the evidence, the reliability and availability of witnesses and the time and resources a trial would require when they negotiate plea deals in homicide cases. The written plea agreement and sentencing documents will be part of the permanent record in St. Louis Circuit Court…