Insets, from left: Orenthia Upshur (Bucks County District Attorney's Office) and Maisha Coon (Hughes Funeral Home). Background: Sleep Inn in Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania, where Upshur killed Coon (Google Maps).
A New Jersey man will spend the rest of his days behind bars for murdering his girlfriend of three decades at a Pennsylvania hotel where they went to discuss their relationship issues.
Orenthia Upshur, 52, was sentenced to life in prison after he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the shooting death of 49-year-old Maisha Coon, the Bucks County District Attorney's Office said.
Upshur killed Coon on the morning of Jan. 15, 2025, at the Sleep Inn in Bensalem Township, which is about 20 miles northeast of Philadelphia. Upshur's relative walked into a Pennsylvania State Police post around 5 a.m. to report that the suspect had told him he killed Coon in a Bensalem hotel.
The relative said he heard Upshur and Coon arguing shortly after 12:30 a.m.
Troopers discovered she had rented room 317 at the Sleep Inn the day before. They found Coon dead in the room from gunshot wounds.
Cops found three shell casings and a bullet hole in the floor that went through to the room below.
Investigators later learned that police in Trenton responded to a shots fired call around 4:30 a.m., moments before Upshur's relative reported the shooting at the police station. Officers arriving at the scene heard more gunfire and saw an armed man, later identified as Upshur, running into a nearby home. This led to an hourslong standoff until Upshur surrendered.
During a four-hour interview with detectives, Upshur admitted to killing Coon. The defendant told the victim, "It's all going to end tonight." He shot her dead as she begged for her life.
"This brutal act of domestic violence robbed Maisha Coon of her life and shattered the lives of those who loved her," Bucks County District Attorney Joe Khan said in a statement. "While nothing can reverse this horrific tragedy, today's life sentence ensures that the defendant will spend the rest of his days behind bars and can never harm another member of our community. I am deeply grateful to our prosecution team and law enforcement partners across state lines whose relentless efforts secured justice for Maisha and her family."
Coon's daughters described their mother in victim impact statements as a hardworking woman who sometimes worked two jobs to support her family. She worked as a caregiver for people in group homes. She was the "life of the party."
"The home feels haunted by her absence," one daughter wrote.
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