Trinity Morley was photographed during her arrest (King County Prosecuting Attorney).
A woman from Washington state who plotted to murder her former boyfriend received a long‑term restraining order.
Trinity Morley, 20, pleaded guilty last month to first‑degree attempted assault with a domestic‑violence modifier for her thwarted scheme to kill her ex‑boyfriend. Her parents discovered a journal detailing a plan to shoot him with a shotgun and arrested her in July 2025. On the night of July 27, 2025, they searched her teenage daughter’s room after Morley claimed she was leaving to “graffiti houses,” yet prosecutors said she harbored a far more “sinister plan.”
That same night, her ex‑boyfriend’s father dialed 911 after observing “a female standing in his backyard with a rifle dressed in all black and wearing a ski mask.” Authorities identified the woman as Morley.
Morley’s parents also called 911 that evening to report their daughter. One week earlier, they had secured an extreme‑risk protection order (ERPO) against her. Court documents reveal that her parents long feared her mental‑illness history, which included hospitalization for “self‑harm incidents, including a suicide attempt.”
In the journal uncovered by her parents, Morley wrote, “I have the gun now, three rounds of slug of buckshot. The shotgun is heavy. He told me that if I don’t hold it right, my arm will get blown off. I have 3 chances to get this right and I don’t want to resort to the knives.”
When Morley could not obtain a firearm immediately because of the state’s “cool‑down” period, she acquired a shotgun from her then‑boyfriend. She told him she had been receiving “threatening texts,” and he believed she needed the weapon for self‑defense.
After fleeing her ex‑boyfriend’s residence, sheriff’s deputies pursued Morley to a nearby dock, where she allegedly told them she was “suicidal” and placed the shotgun against her chin. Following a brief standoff, she dropped the firearm and a knife, and deputies placed her under arrest.
Deputies read Morley her rights and later confirmed, through documents, that she intended to kill her ex‑boyfriend and then herself. Prosecutors noted that, despite her earlier claim of suicidal intent, the suspect was “smiling, rolling her eyes, and even chuckling” while officers processed her arrest.
Morley asserted that her ex‑boyfriend had sexually assaulted her; however, after she reported the incident, no charges were filed. Prosecutors state that detectives closed the case after deeming the allegations “unfounded.”
On Friday, a court sentenced Morley to 17 months in prison followed by 36 months of supervised release. The judgment also imposed a ten‑year prohibition on any contact with her ex‑boyfriend.
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