A former Huntsville Police officer has been indicted for capital murder in connection with the shooting death of his girlfriend in January last year.
David McCoy is charged with shooting Courtney Spraggins while she was inside a car at Weston Ranch Apartments on Jan. 7, 2022. Spraggins was pregnant at the time she was killed.
McCoy is charged with three counts of capital murder, according to the indictment dated March 24. The charges include killing a person inside a car, killing a person and her unborn child and killing a person under 14 — the unborn child.
McCoy Told 911 Dispatcher Spraggins Shot Herself
At the time of the incident, McCoy was off-duty. After the fatal shooting, he claimed Spraggins committed suicide. She was seven months pregnant with McCoy's baby.
After the shooting, McCoy quickly changed his clothes and threw the murder weapon in the closet. He then dialled 911 and told the dispatched he was awakened by a gunshot from a small-calibre gun and when he went down to investigate, he found Spraggins shot in the head in the driver seat of her car.
McCoy told the first responding officer, "I think I've seen her once," but told other investigators, "I don't know her" even though officers found found a picture of McCoy in the visor of Spraggins' car. He later confessed to the crime after he tested positive for gunshot residue and they found a pistol, that was not his service weapon, and Spraggins' locked phone in a closet in his apartment.
McCoy Told Spraggins He 'Needed More Time,' was Engaged to Another Woman
Investigators found text messages on the victim's phone providing more detail on what led to the incident. Investigators said Spraggins quit her job in December and arrived in Huntsville on Dec. 17 to move in with McCoy but he told her that he "needed more time."
At that point, investigators said Spraggins drove from Huntsville to Maryland. She described a text message exchange between the two in December where Spraggins asked him what she was supposed to do. Hayes said McCoy responded, "a bullet to the head sounds good to me." When Spraggins moved to Huntsville, McCoy was engaged to another woman and living with her, according to WAAY-TV.
McCoy told her to come back and that he was ready to take care of her. She arrived in Huntsville on Jan. 7 and McCoy buzzed her into the gate of the complex at 8:04 a.m. McCoy and Spraggins then went for a drive in his truck and arrived back at the apartment complex at about 9:40 a.m. before he fatally shot her.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for McCoy.
