Lexington police charge woman with murder in connection to 2022 homicide
A Lexington woman has been charged with murder in connection to an October shooting that left a 33-year-old woman dead, according to Lexington police.
Courtney Young, 32, was charged Tuesday with murder, evidence tampering and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon after she allegedly shot and killed 33-year-old Nicole Morton, police said.
Young has been incarcerated at the Fayette County Detention Center since Oct. 27 on unrelated warrants, police said. Young allegedly shot Morton two days prior.
On Oct. 25, Lexington police were called to the 700 block of Maple Avenue at roughly 4 a.m. for reports of gunshots, according to Lt. Joe Anderson with the Lexington Police Department. When officers arrived they found Morton suffering from a gunshot wound inside a home.
Morton was declared dead on scene by the Lexington Fire Department, according to Anderson. No suspect information was provided at the time of the shooting.
The shooting happened inside an apartment that belonged to Young, according to the warrant for her arrest which was filled out by a Lexington police detective. During a subsequent interview after her arrest, Young gave two different stories to detectives about where she was the night of the murder, both of which were proven to be untrue by detectives.
DNA evidence and other investigative tools pinned Young in the vicinity of the scene when the killing occurred, according to court documents.
Young boasted about the murder, citing details not released to the public, court documents say.
Lexington shooting victim was a mother and military veteran
Morton was an East Jessamine High School graduate and attended Asbury College briefly on a basketball scholarship, according to her obituary. She was also a military veteran who served as an ammunition specialist in Afghanistan and El Paso, Texas. She joined the U.S. Army in 2009.
During her military career, Morton earned the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with Campaign Star, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon and the NATO Medal, according to her obituary.
Morton loved riding and caring for horses on her family’s farm, according to her obituary. She left behind three children.
“Nicole suffered from addiction during much of the last decade of her life, and even during her most difficult times she considered her children to be her greatest accomplishments,” her obituary said.
Lexington police have now made arrests in 28 of last year’s 44 homicide cases.
This story was originally published April 5, 2023 at 7:37 AM.
