CONNELLY SPRINGS, N.C. — Deputies have arrested and charged a man who they said admitted to shooting and killing his ex-girlfriend in Burke County Monday.
Jeremy Shayne Baldridge, 22, appeared in court Wednesday after being charged with the murder of 18-year-old Caitlyn Alexis Truax.
Channel 9's Dave Faherty was in the courtroom as Truax's family fought back tears.
Her family said Baldridge repeatedly threatened the woman when they dated.
“She thought that she could fix him,” the victim’s mother, Heather Truax, said. “There’s no fixing that. He threatened to kill her hundreds of times.”
Truax's family cannot forgive him for what happened.
“He needs to die,” her father Bryan Truax said Wednesday. “He needs the death penalty. She didn’t deserve it. She didn’t deserve to be gunned down in cold blood by him.”
(Jeremy Baldridge)
The shooting happened around 9:30 p.m. Monday on McDuffy Road in Connelly Springs.
Family members are thankful for the neighbor who rushed to her side holding her hand before she died.
“Thank you for being with my daughter, so she didn’t have to die alone,” Bryan Truax said.
Lori Triplett heard the shooting outside her home and across her yard. She said she saw Truax barely breathing in the road.
She ran to her side and held her hand until deputies arrived.
“I just pray for that little girl's family,” Triplett said. “I can’t imagine someone doing this. You hear of this happening everywhere, but you don’t expect a young girl to die for no reason.”
Neighbors said that minutes after the murder, Baldridge was walking calmly down McDuffy Road.
The Burke County Sheriff's Office said that when deputies arrived, they found Baldridge walking in the area. Deputies said Baldridge was cooperative with law enforcement officers and told them he had shot his ex-girlfriend, Truax.
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As deputies took Baldridge into custody, they said they found a pistol on the ground near the road.
Witnesses said Baldridge called Truax an hour before the murder and threatened to kill her.
“He called her on the phone and said he’s going to come over here and ‘shoot me,’” neighbor Bobby Fugitt said. “It’s cold-blooded murder. Just pull out a gun and shoot somebody.”
Baldridge was accused of breaking Truax’s cellphone and burning some of her property in December after a fight, according to court documents.
The documents also state Baldridge made a death wish statement involving Truax.
Those charges were later dismissed after mediation.
Baldridge is being held at the Burke-Catawba District Confinement Facility under no bond.
An important piece of evidence in the case is his 911 confession, but it’s up to the district attorney to decide on whether or not to release it.
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Officials said the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is helping the Sheriff's Office with the investigation.
Dating violence among teens is a nationwide problem and is common, officials said.
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This is an ongoing investigation. Check back with wsoctv.com for more information.