PEORIA, IL – A Peoria woman has been sentenced to more than three decades behind bars after admitting to fatally shooting her boyfriend last fall during an argument that turned deadly.
Tnashia Wash, now 20, was just a teenager at the time she shot Roderick Richardson, 30, inside his home on October 16, 2023. Authorities said Wash had been staying with Richardson along with her young child when the couple became embroiled in a heated dispute over their relationship status.
During the altercation, Wash seized Richardson’s firearm and fired a total of six shots. According to investigators, she later told police that she feared for her life and that of her child, claiming Richardson threatened them and then “charged” at her. Wash maintained she acted in self-defense.
However, the results of the autopsy contradicted Wash’s account. The coroner found that four gunshot wounds struck Richardson in the back. Forensic analysis indicated those bullets were fired from a distance, not at close range, raising doubts about her justification for opening fire.
Evidence presented by prosecutors suggested the trajectory and positioning of the wounds were inconsistent with Wash’s initially stated fears for her own safety. The state’s attorney’s office said Wash eventually confessed to the shooting, but her self-defense claim did not align with the medical evidence.
As her murder trial neared, Wash pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in June, avoiding a jury trial just days before it was set to begin. At sentencing, Chief Judge Katherine Gorman considered Wash’s youth at the time of the crime but ultimately ordered her to serve 31 years in prison. The sentence allows for the possibility of parole after 20 years served.
The emotional toll on Richardson’s family was made clear during the proceedings. A letter from Richardson’s mother was read aloud in court, describing the lasting trauma and grief following her son’s death. She recounted the devastation it caused their family, describing a loss that, in her words, “left a permanent hole that can never be repaired.”
For Wash, the decision marks the end of a brief legal battle and the beginning of a lengthy prison term. Her eligibility for parole in two decades leaves the door open for eventual release, but prosecutors noted the severity and tragic nature of the loss endured by Richardson’s loved ones.
Authorities say the case underscores the complexities involved in domestic violence incidents and the challenges of determining intent and culpability. Court records indicate this case is among several recent domestic homicides that have rocked the Peoria community over the past year.
No family members from either side commented publicly after the sentencing. Wash was taken into custody immediately and will be transferred to state prison to serve her sentence.