BREAKING: Jury finds Meadows guilty in 2021 murder of girlfriend

MEADOWS

Following several days of testimony and deliberations, a jury has returned a guilty verdict against a Williamsburg man in the 2021 murder of his girlfriend.

Jurors found John Phillip Meadows, 60, guilty on one count of murder and one count of tampering with physical evidence Thursday morning. The jury delivered the verdict to Judge Paul Winchester in Whitley Circuit Court just before noon, after approximately an hour and 20 minutes of deliberations. 

Meadows fatally shot his girlfriend, Donna G. Lay, 57, on Jan. 8, 2021, in her S. 10th Street apartment that the two shared in Williamsburg. He later wrapped Lay’s body in a blanket and placed the body under the bed for more than two weeks before moving the body into a large garbage can on Jan. 25, 2021, which he placed in a closet.

Meadows was arrested Feb. 1, 2021, after police executed a search warrant at the apartment and found Lay’s body. Meadows had continued to live inside the apartment following Lay’s death.

Before being asked to decide on Meadows’ verdict, Commonwealth’s Attorney Ronnie Bowling addressed the jury during his closing arguments Thursday, saying that he fulfilled his burden as a prosecutor and asking jurors to serve justice for Lay.

“I’m checking off this burden to you; it’s now your responsibility,” said Bowling. “Find him guilty.”

Jurors will now decide on Meadows’ punishment, for which he could face 20 years to life imprisonment for the murder count alone. 

For more details, including the jury’s sentencing recommendations and information from Meadows’ testimony when he took the stand during trial, see the Feb. 1 edition of the News Journal.