Lexington murder suspect offered 2 alibis. Both were untrue, police say.
A Lexington murder suspect gave detectives two different alibis about where she was the night of a murder she’s accused of, both of which were later proven untrue, according to testimony from a Lexington police detective.
Courtney Young, 32, was charged with murder, evidence tampering and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon for allegedly killing 33-year-old Nicole Morton, police said. Young has been incarcerated at the Fayette County Detention Center since Oct. 27, two days after Morton was shot and killed.
Young was originally arrested on unrelated warrants, according to police. April 4 she was formally charged in the murder case.
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 residence.
Morton was declared dead on scene by the Lexington Fire Department, according to Anderson. Morton was found with a gunshot wound to the back, with no shoes on and her pocket turned inside out, according to Det. Steven Hudak with the Lexington Police Department.
The shooting happened inside an apartment that belonged to Young, according to the warrant for her arrest. A landlord confirmed to police that Young was the sole occupant of the apartment where Morton was found, Hudak said.
Young didn’t make any contact with police about the incident, which was the first sign of suspicion for detectives, Hudak said.
“Mrs. Young was nowhere to be found at the crime scene, nor did she call 911 or make any attempt to reach out to police to find out what happened inside of her apartment,” Hudak said. “This raised suspicion to us, given that the apartment appeared to be occupied very recently. The TV was on.”
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, according to Hudak. Young’s first story claimed she was selling someone cocaine on Loudon Avenue, and her second story claimed she was out of town in Dayton, Ohio.
Detectives refuted Young’s first alibi by checking security camera footage of the area where Young said she was selling cocaine, according to Hudak. Young was not seen on the surveillance footage.
“We have video from that particular area in a house that she described where she would’ve had to pass those cameras, and we did not see her on camera footage passing it or coming back towards her apartment,” Hudak said.
Detectives proved Young’s second story untrue by checking her cell phone records, which placed her in Lexington instead of Dayton, Hudak said. Detectives also checked Morton’s cell phone records, which showed her last known location was at the scene of the shooting.
Morton’s phone was not found on her, Hudak said. A shell casing and firearm were also missing from the scene.
DNA evidence and other investigative tools pinned Young in the vicinity of the scene when the killing occurred, according to court documents.
Young also boasted about the murder, citing details not released to the public, court documents say. The witnesses who heard those details later reached out to police from jail voluntarily to speak about the case, according to Hudak.
The witness statements corroborated with each other, according to Hudak. The witnesses have not received anything in exchange for their statements, Hudak said.
Fayette District Judge Melissa Murphy found probable cause in the case and sent it forward to a grand jury. Young’s attorney Sarah Langer argued that the only piece of evidence pinning her client to the crime was the fact that it happened at her apartment.
Murphy responded by pointing out the other evidence Hudak presented during his testimony, such as the cell phone records and Young’s inconsistent statements to detectives.
Young’s bond of $1 million remained unchanged. She remains lodged at the Fayette County Detention Center.
Shooting victim was 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.
