Trinity Morley during her arrest (King County Prosecuting Attorney).
A Washington woman who planned to kill her former boyfriend has been ordered to have no contact with him for the next decade.
Trinity Morley, 20, pleaded guilty last month to first-degree attempted assault with a domestic violence modifier after her plan to kill her ex-boyfriend was thwarted. She was arrested in July 2025 after her parents discovered a journal describing plans to shoot him with a shotgun. Morley had left the family home on the night of July 27, 2025, saying she intended to spray-paint houses. But when she was gone, her parents searched the room of their then-teenage daughter and found evidence that prosecutors said pointed to a far more “sinister plan.”
That same night, the ex-boyfriend’s father called 911 after spotting “a female standing in his backyard with a rifle dressed in all black and wearing a ski mask.” Authorities later identified the woman as Morley.
Morley’s parents also contacted 911 to report her whereabouts. A week earlier, they had secured an extreme risk protection order, or ERPO, against their daughter. Court documents reviewed by Law&Crime said the parents had long been concerned about Morley’s mental health history, including hospitalizations for “self-harm incidents, including a suicide attempt.”
In the journal, Morley wrote: “I have the gun now, three rounds of slug of buckshot. The shotgun is heavy. He told me that if I don’t hold it right, my arm will get blown off. I have 3 chances to get this right and I don’t want to resort to the knives.”
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Morley was unable to obtain a firearm immediately because of the state’s mandatory “cool-down” period. She instead took a shotgun from her boyfriend at the time after telling him she had been receiving “threatening texts.” Believing she needed the weapon for protection, he gave it to her.
After Morley left her ex-boyfriend’s home, sheriff’s deputies tracked her to a nearby dock. She reportedly told officers she was “suicidal” while holding the shotgun to her chin. The brief standoff ended when she dropped the firearm and a knife, allowing deputies to take her into custody.
After being advised of her rights, Morley admitted that she had intended to kill her ex-boyfriend and then take her own life, according to court documents. Prosecutors said the suspect, who had described herself as suicidal, was “smiling, rolling her eyes, and even chuckling” as deputies processed her arrest.
Morley told authorities that her former boyfriend had sexually assaulted her. She said she reported the alleged assault, but prosecutors noted that no charges were filed. Detectives ultimately closed the investigation after determining that the claims were “unfounded,” according to prosecutors.
On Friday, Morley was sentenced to 17 months in prison followed by 36 months of supervised release. The court also prohibited her from contacting or approaching her ex-boyfriend for 10 years.
