A 22-year-old man accused of stabbing to death his mother, brother and sister almost a year ago tried to plead guilty Friday over the protests of the judge and his lawyer before an official plea of not guilty was entered in his case.
Eugene Quatron McCoy made his first court appearance since being indicted on charges that he murdered three members of his family 10 months ago in their Lilburn home.
When his name was called, McCoy raised his hand, stood up and said, "I don't want to plead not guilty. I was trying to plead guilty."
The public defender and DeKalb County Superior Court Senior Judge Robert Mallis talked over him, telling him to sit down and let his lawyer speak for him.
"You need to talk to your lawyer," Mallis said. At that point, public defender Daryl Queen officially entered a plea of not guilty.
McCoy is charged with three counts of felony murder and one count of aggravated assault for allegedly attacking his mother, Shelia Irons; step-sister Chastity McPherson, 11; and step-brother Zion McPherson, 8, and stabbing them to death in their Lithonia home. McCoy's then-17-year-old sister, Candice McCoy, was critically injured but escaped from the house.
McCoy was arrested shortly after the April 3 killings, and he was indicted last December. He has been in jail since, held without bond.
McCoy’s father said his son and Irons fought frequently. Irons had previously gotten two restraining orders against her son even though he was still living in her house.
Police said he was walking away from the house when they arrived, responding to a call the surviving sister made from a nearby house.
McCoy had been arrested six times previously, twice for allegedly violating family violence orders. McCoy, who pleaded guilty to criminal trespass on Jan. 8, 2011, had only been out of jail 2 ½ weeks when his family was stabbed.
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