MONROE

A man pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison.

Gregory Coffey, 43, formerly of 1209 Sharon Drive in Waxhaw, pleaded to killing his wife, 32-year-old Towanda Chambers, on July 29, 2008.

The day of the killing, Coffey rode in the back seat while Chamber drove her Honda Accord through downtown Waxhaw. Witnesses told police they saw Coffey waive a gun in Chambers’ face. Coffey told police the gun went off when Chambers drove over a bump and he tried to steady himself by grabbing the headrest. “I had no idea that I had shot Towanda,” he wrote in a signed statement for detectives.

The car rode off the street and crashed into the side wall of The Captain’s Galley on W. South Main Street. Witnesses called 911 and said they saw the couple arguing and could see a gun; police arrived at the scene moments after the crash. When police got to Chambers she was already dead and Coffey was trying to crawl out of the car. He suffered a dislocated knee.

The two had been arguing and there was a history of domestic violence, according to Waxhaw Detective Bobby Haulk.

A few days after the incident, Chambers father, Marvin Chambers, told The Enquirer-Journal that Coffey had threatened his daughter and Towanda Chambers brother, Charles Colston, said Coffey had sent text messages to her, threatening to kill her.

By pleading to first-degree murder, Coffey avoided going to trial and potentially facing the death penalty.

During the plea hearing, members of Towanda Chambers family filled the first two bench rows. Many cried throughout the hearing and some had to periodically leave the courtroom while specifics about the murder were discussed. Coffey wore a white T-shirt and kept his head down during the entire hearing.

“I had a daughter just like any father would want,” Marvin Chambers told Judge Tanya Wallace. “And she was snatched away from us; it was a senseless death.”

“That was my baby,” Towanda Chambers mother, Betty Chambers, said through sobs. “She was sweet to everybody. ... I’m just dead on the inside.”

On the other side of the court, Coffey’s attorney insisted there was more to his client’s background and the marriage than what came forward in the hearing.

There are two sides to the story and if the case would have gone to trial, that other side would have been shown, Stephen Goodwin, Coffey’s attorney, said. There was not enough of a case for Goodwin to recommend his client go to trial, however.

This case makes the second domestic homicide to reach its conclusion in a week; Dan Edwards was convicted last week of killing his wife in Waxhaw.

District Attorney John Snyder said he was happy with the plea arrangement but lamented they exist.

“Domestic violence cases are absolutely preventable,” he said. “And if people would stop and step back, we wouldn’t have to be prosecuting this.”