Melvin Terry Jr. gunned down Noah Kinney in the driveway of a house in Akron, Ohio. The shocking case would go on to be explored in a season nine episode of The Murder Tapes titled “Blood in the Snow.” Reports indicate that Kinney was struck by three bullets in the exchange.
Twelve shots were fired in total, and the passenger in Kinney’s car was also hit, but the wound was nonfatal. Kinney would try to escape and make it to his car. Attempting to drive away, the car crashed into the front porch of a neighborhood house, and the young man was found dead at the wheel of his car when authorities arrived.
Melvin Terry Is Still Serving Life In Prison
Melvin Terry is the son of Melvin Terry Senior. He was twenty years old at the time of the shooting. It was reported that Terry was selling marijuana to Noah Kinney, but the meeting had turned sour, and Terry would pull a gun and shoot twelve bullets at Kinney. Kinney was struck by three bullets and died from the gunshot wounds. Another bullet would also strike a passenger, Jeffery Law, who was in Kinney’s car, but it was nonfatal, only grazing his arm.
The incident was captured on a security camera, and it showed Terry fleeing from the scene in a Buick. Law would ask a neighbor to phone the police. Other neighbors also phoned the police when they heard the shots.
Terry was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to life in prison with a chance of parole after eighteen years. He is currently serving his sentence at the Allen-Oakwood Correctional Institution in Lima, Ohio.
The Reasons Behind The Murder and Plea for Self-Defense
The real reasons behind the shooting have been hard to ascertain. Reports indicate that Noah Kinney was attempting to purchase marijuana from Melvin Terry when the attack happened. Terry’s defense lawyer would go on to say that Terry had actually been trying to defend himself in the situation that led to him shooting Kinney. The jury did not accept the defense in the case.
Melvin Terry in Court
Terry claimed self-defense as CCTV footage made available to the police showed conclusively what had happened. Initial testimony from Jeffrey Law was dismissed. He claimed the attack had happened when two masked men attacked their car when they were parked in a driveway. Police quickly realized this was a lie, and evidence, such as no footprints in the snow, proved the story false.
The damning camera footage sealed Terry’s fate, and it seemed that self-defense was the only way he could explain his attack against Kinney.
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