A Bellefonte man charged with murdering his wife in the basement of their home then setting a fire while their daughter slept in a room above will spend the rest of his life in prison.
Charles E. McGhee II, 38, pleaded guilty in Centre County Court on Thursday to the first-degree murder of Courtney McGhee and aggravated arson. He waived his right to a pre-sentencing investigation report and was immediately sentenced by Judge Katherine Oliver to the mandatory sentence of life without parole in a state correctional institute to be determined.
He also received the standard guideline sentence of four to eight years for aggravated arson.
“It is the wish of Courtney McGhee’s family that she be remembered as a caring, giving, devoted mother and a provider for her family,” said District Attorney Bernie Cantorna in a statement. “This was a tragic and senseless murder that reminds us that we must all be aware of the insidiousness, silence and danger that domestic violence poses.”
Prosecutors said McGhee was angry that his wife had told him earlier in the day that she wanted a divorce. McGhee struck her in the head and body multiple times with a blunt object and the county coroner’s office determined Courtney McGhee’s cause of death to be blunt force trauma to the head.
Three small fires were set in the basement, posing a risk to their daughter who had been asleep upstairs. The daughter was awoken by smoke alarms and fled to a neighbor’s house. Fire departments were dispatched to the scene and discovered Courtney McGhee.
Charles McGhee was taken into custody after crashing his vehicle on Interstate 80. At a preliminary hearing in July, prosecutors introduced numerous pieces of evidence, including photos that showed burns on his body and blood on his fingers. They also presented text messages Courtney McGhee sent to a friend that said Charles McGhee had been cheating on her and refused to sign divorce papers.
He entered his plea on Thursday in front of a courtroom gallery of dozens of Courtney McGhee’s family members and friends. Her daughter, mother, two sisters, nephew and friends delivered emotional victim impact statements before sentencing.
Her mother, Bernadette Dill, and sisters, Kristen Shirey and Bernadette Ditty-Hynd, each described Courtney McGhee as a smart, friendly and hardworking woman who was beloved by all who knew her and who was trapped in an abusive marriage.
‘Courtney was very social, outgoing and friendly,’ said Dill, who was accompanied by her husband and Courtney’s father, John Dill. ‘Her circle of friends never changed. It only got bigger.’
Courtney McGhee met her future husband through a friend and brought him from Ohio to Pennsylvania, Dill said. Dill described Charles McGhee as a ‘controlling, mean and lazy’ man who ‘did nothing for Courtney or [their daughter].’ She said it was Courtney who worked for what the family had while Charles McGhee always had an excuse for why he could not.
Dill also said that Charles McGhee claimed to be deeply religious and cited the Bible as commanding women to be submissive to men.
‘The mental torture you put our daughter and granddaughter through is reprehensible,’ she said.
Dill and others giving statements said Charles McGhee had multiple affairs with other women and sought to drive a wedge between Courtney and her family and friends.
Shirey said he subjected Courtney McGhee to physical, mental and emotional abuse
‘I do believe you would barbarically murder again if given the chance,’ Shirey said.
‘Courtney was a selfless, giving person who was full of love and sacrifice for all,’ Shirey added. ‘We became victims of your crimes, not only her family but her friends and the people of Centre County.’
Ditty-Hynd said her relationship with her sister had been ruptured for years because of Charles McGhee, but that they were talking again before Courtney McGhee’s death.
‘Courtney died a very long time ago as you crippled her… You slowly ate away at her soul,’ Ditty-Hynd said. ‘Courtney was never your wife. She was always your victim.’
The McGhees’ daughter gave the final statement. She described how she awoke to the sound of a fire alarm and walked out of her room to see the house filled with smoke and her father standing there.
She said she asked him what was going on and he seemed surprised to hear her voice. McGhee told her ‘Go,’ then ran out of the house. She made her way outside and made eye contact with him before he got in a car and drove away.
She went back inside to find where the fire was and look for her mother before eventually going to a neighbor’s house. Two hours later she was taken to the Bellefonte Police Station and told her mother was dead.
‘My best friend, my mother, my hero was gone,’ she said. ‘How could you kill the woman you love?’
Charles McGhee said little during the plea and sentencing. He stood with his head down as Cantorna recited the elements of the case and gave yes or no answers to questions from Oliver about his understanding of the plea and sentencing. When offered the opportunity to give a final statement, he only said he would not because he did not want to speak his wife’s name.
He also had been charged with third degree murder, aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of a child, flight to avoid apprehension, possession of an instrument of crime, recklessly endangering another person and tampering with evidence, as well as two counts of animal cruelty because two cats were killed by the fire.
Cantorna urged individuals who are in abusive relationships to contact Centre County Women’s Resource Center or other professionals for help in planning to leave.
‘It is imperative that threats of violence be taken seriously,’ a statement from the DA’s office said. ‘Threats by an abusive partner to kill him or herself also indicate an escalated risk. The tragic death ofCourtney McGhee is a reminder to our community that controlling and abusive behavior poses great risks to the persons trapped in these relationships. The greatest risk occurs when the victim is ready to leave.
‘If you or anyone else finds themselves ready to leave an abusive relationship, the family of Courtney McGhee asks you to please contact the Centre County Women’s Resource Center or other qualified professionals to ask for help before doing so.’
The Centre County Women’s Resource Center can be reached any time at 1-877-234-5050.
