PENSACOLA, FL – A 25-year-old Florida woman, Alyssa Marie Blackburn, has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for assisting in the murder of her boyfriend, Jesse Geoghagan, who was fatally shot in his home while hiding from intruders. The case, described by prosecutors as a “search and destroy mission,” shocked the Pensacola community and drew national attention.
Conviction and Sentence
First Judicial Circuit Judge Amy P. Brodersen issued Blackburn’s sentence on Wednesday following her conviction by an Escambia County jury in August 2025. She was found guilty of being a principal to second-degree murder, meaning she participated in, assisted, or encouraged the killing.
The two men involved in the slaying, Jacob Colville and Lawrence Bonner Jr., were also convicted. Colville, the shooter, was convicted of first-degree premeditated murder in June 2024 and sentenced to life in prison, while Bonner pleaded no contest to second-degree murder in August 2024, receiving five years with over 1,000 days credited for time already served.
Family Reaction
Before the sentence was handed down, several of Geoghagan’s family members spoke in court, urging the judge to ensure Blackburn would never be released.
Ashley Arnold, Geoghagan’s sister, said, “Now that he’s gone, everything is different. He was just trying to come home that day, and now he’s sitting on a shelf in my house. A whole part of me is gone.”
Details of the Murder
The murder occurred on October 29, 2022, at Geoghagan’s home on the 1000 block of Medford Avenue in Pensacola, Florida, near the Alabama border…