Cunningham, who is an ex-cop, confessed to the police that he shot his girlfriend and has got sentenced to life imprisonment.
Trigger Warning: The following content contains mentions of gun violence, intimate partner violence, and murder, which may be distressing to some readers.
A Florida mother of three who was murdered by a former deputy of Richmond County received justice today as the ex-cop got sentenced to life imprisonment.
Jason Cunningham admitted to the crime and was given a life sentence for the homicide with malice. In addition, he received a five-year term for possessing a gun while committing a crime, according to a statement from the Augusta District Attorney's Office, per the Augusta Chronicle. Cunningham confessed to the police that he shot Nicole Harrington, 37, of Hallandale Beach, Florida, point blank in the back of the head because she "insulted the size of his manhood," according to the statement per PEOPLE.
Ex-Georgia deputy gets life in prison for killing married lover who insulted his penis size https://t.co/1DpUtuP2Da pic.twitter.com/Rb3AItUB5d
— New York Post (@nypost) May 25, 2023
Cunningham was having an affair with Harrington while married to another woman, but Harrington was apparently unaware of his marital status, according to Augusta district attorney Jared Williams. Cunningham asserted that he had met Harrington on the evening of June 17, 2020, in a garage to put an end to their relationship. He decided to kill her instead, per the Augusta Press.
Before going to dinner, the two fought for more than an hour about her relationship with a different man called Maui. Williams claimed that on the way, Harrington said, "At least Maui has a large penis," and Cunningham shot her dead in the head.
"This was an extramarital affair in which the defendant was living a double life," said Augusta District Attorney Jared Williams in a statement. "According to the defendant, he shot the victim for insulting the size of his manhood."
Cunningham told authorities he shot Nicole Harrington, 37, of Hallandale Beach, Florida, in the back of the head after she "insult[ed] the size of his manhood,"
— Cassandra Graham (@Cosmic_Mystery0) May 23, 2023
Former Richmond County sheriff's deputy sentenced to life in prison for murder https://t.co/Aev74P3C8c
Williams stated that her body stayed in the elevator all night until it was discovered the next morning. Harrington's father, a retired sheriff's deputy, agreed to a plea agreement. Cunningham "destroyed one life", and was "rightfully without the rest of your life", the grieving father shared at his sentencing. From 2001 through 2018, according to Law and Crime, Cunningham served as a deputy in the Richmond County Sheriff's Office (RCSO). After working there for 18 years, the cop lost his job after failing drug tests.
The former sheriff’s deputy accused of killing a Florida mother of three will spend at least 35 years in prison.
— The Augusta PRESS (@AugustaPress) May 22, 2023
Read the story: https://t.co/Xfwn0mx6Di#formerdeputy #richmondcountyga #sentencedtoprison pic.twitter.com/T11hogvqVP
The day after he murdered the mom-of-three, the suspect dialed an investigator at his former workplace out of shame "because he did something really bad last night," he told him. Cunningham then engaged in a nearly eight-hour gun confrontation with authorities after refusing to surrender quietly. According to the DA, he later admitted to killing Harrington. "This is a tragic event" with "an appropriate disposition," Richmond County Superior Court Jesse Stone said while sentencing the ex-cop to life.
Jason 'Moose' Cunningham has been sentenced in the June 2020 murder of Nicole Diane Harrington. https://t.co/3Y2G2FPKce
— WJBF (@WJBF) May 22, 2023
References:
https://people.com/ex-cop-sentenced-life-prisonmurdering-girlfriend-insulted-size-manhood-7504317
https://theaugustapress.com/former-deputy-sentenced-to-life-plus-five-years-in-2020-homicide/
Cover Image Source: Richmond County Sheriff's Office