A 52-year-old New Jersey man was sentenced today to mandatory life in prison without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty to first-degree murder and related charges in the fatal domestic violence shooting of his girlfriend at a Bensalem hotel.
Orenthia Upshur, of Trenton, N.J., entered the guilty plea in Bucks County Court for the Jan. 15, 2025, murder of 49-year-old Maisha Coon, also of Trenton. Following the plea, Common Pleas Judge Wallace H. Bateman Jr. immediately imposed the mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without parole.
Court testimony indicated that the two had been in a relationship spanning three decades and had gone to the hotel to address ongoing relationship issues before the encounter turned fatal, another tragic reminder of the lethal nature of domestic violence.
“This brutal act of domestic violence robbed Maisha Coon of her life and shattered the lives of those who loved her,” said Bucks County District Attorney Joe Khan. “While nothing can reverse this horrific tragedy, today’s life sentence ensures that the defendant will spend the rest of his days behind bars and can never harm another member of our community. I am deeply grateful to our prosecution team and law enforcement partners across state lines whose relentless efforts secured justice for Maisha and her family.”
During the emotional sentencing proceeding, victim impact statements written by Coon’s two daughters were read into the record by Assistant District Attorney Samantha D’Amore.
Her daughters remembered Coon as a hardworking woman who often balanced two jobs at a time to support her family, including dedicated work caring for individuals in group homes. They remembered her vibrant spirit, her eye for fashion and home decorating, and her status as the “life of the party.”
“The home feels haunted by her absence,” one daughter wrote.
Additional written impact statements were submitted to Judge Bateman, each detailing the pain and trauma inflicted on Coon’s family and loved ones by this deadly act of intimate partner violence.
The homicide occurred on the morning of Jan. 15, 2025. The investigation began around 5:00 a.m. when a relative of Upshur entered the Pennsylvania State Police Trevose Barracks to report that Upshur had admitted to shooting Coon in a Bensalem hotel room. The family member informed troopers that the couple had been arguing and that an argument between them was overheard during a phone call around 12:30 a.m.
Utilizing cellular phone location data, authorities pinpointed Coon’s location to a cluster of hotels in the area. Pennsylvania State Troopers conducted a check at the Sleep Inn on Street Road, where they learned Coon had rented a room. Upon entering Room 317, officers discovered Coon deceased from multiple gunshot wounds.
Detectives with the Bensalem Township Police Department recovered three spent bullet casings inside the room, along with physical evidence indicating a bullet trajectory that penetrated into the hotel room on the floor below.
Prior to the discovery of the victim, Trenton Police responded around 4:30 a.m. to a 911 report of shots fired in Trenton, N.J. Arriving officers heard additional gunfire and observed an armed man, later identified as Upshur, flee into a nearby residence. Following a multi-hour standoff with the Mercer County Tactical Response Team, Upshur was taken into custody, and law enforcement recovered the firearm utilized in the homicide.
During a subsequent four-hour police interview with the New Jersey State Police Crime Suppression Central Unit, Upshur confessed to the murder. Investigators revealed that while Coon pleaded for her life during the attack, Upshur told her, “It’s all going to end tonight.”
“The Bensalem Township Police Department is relieved that justice has been served in the brutal murder of Maisha Coon and thanks the District Attorney’s Office for its successful prosecution,” said William McVey, Bensalem Police Director of Public Safety. “I commend our officers and detectives for their dedication and tireless investigative work, which led to the arrest and successful prosecution of Upshur. We are happy that Upshur will not be able to hurt anyone else and our thoughts remain with Maisha’s family and loved ones. We hope this outcome brings them some measure of peace.”
The case was investigated jointly by the Bensalem Township Police Department and the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, with assistance from the Pennsylvania State Police, the Trenton Police Department, and the New Jersey State Police.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Samantha D’Amore.
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