Woman charged with killing man in east Charlotte has lengthy record, documents show

CHARLOTTE — A woman charged with killing a man in east Charlotte has a lengthy criminal, according to court documents Channel 9 uncovered.

Police said they were called on April 9 at around 6:45 p.m. to Sharon Chase Drive. Officers told Channel 9′s Glenn Counts that a neighbor asked the agency to perform a welfare check and found someone who had died inside the home.

The victim was later identified as 54-year-old Clarence Lee Ardrey.

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“I’m tore up inside. You know, my brother would say hold back your tears. Put it in God’s hands,” his brother Isaac Ardrey said.

Issac Ardrey said his brother is no longer around to give him that advice.

“He loved to sing and he loved people. He loved life. He had a strong love for life,” Issac Ardrey said.

Clarence Ardrey’s family said he was stabbed to death in an apartment. According to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, Courtney McKoy, 27, has been charged in connection with Ardrey’s murder.

Channel 9 looked into McKoy’s past. According to court documents, she has assaulted a number of people using knives.

In January 2019, McKoy is accused of stabbing a victim in the back, causing them to be hospitalized, court records show.
In June 2020, McKoy is accused of attacking a Charlotte couple with a knife, according to court documents.
In February 2022, McKoy allegedly stabbed another man in his right temple, front left shoulder, chest and the middle of his lower back, documents say. According to court documents, her bond in that case was set at $100,000.

On March 1, pretrial release accepted McKoy’s case and was able to get her out of jail. The next day, on March 2, McKoy allegedly punched her roommate. The roommate also claimed she threatened him with a knife, court records show. According to court documents, McKoy was issued a criminal summons but she was not arrested.

On March 20, she was arrested for removing her electronic monitor, causing her original $100,000 bond to be reinstated.

On March 23, Magistrate F. Brown reduced McKoy’s bond to $6,000. However, she was still not released from jail.

On April 6, pretrial release stepped in once again and got her out of jail, according to court documents.

On April 8, police said Clarence Ardrey was murdered.

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“Why did it have to be my brother? Why did it have to be Clarence? That just ain’t right,” Isaac Ardrey said.

He said Clarence was trying to help McKoy, and he feels like the system betrayed him by allowing her to be released from jail.

“If it was somebody in their family — their child, their brother, their sister, their mother — they would be thinking and feeling like I’m feeling,” Isaac Ardrey said.

Channel 9 has reached out to the county to inquire about how McKoy was able to qualify for pretrial release given her record. A spokesperson said they are working on providing an answer to that question.

(WATCH BELOW: Salisbury police investigating homicide overnight)