The Celeste Cannon murder case ended with Donald Scurry Jr., the father of one of her children, convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to 65 years in prison for shooting the 24-year-old mother of three at her Millville, New Jersey home on September 20, 2017. A co-defendant, Charles Brent Clark, was convicted of weapons and evidence-tampering offenses tied to helping Scurry before and after the killing. The case drew national attention because Cannon was the older sister of Isiah Pacheco, who later became a running back for the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Shooting and the Evidence That Led to Scurry
Cannon was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head at 110 West Main Street in Millville on September 20, 2017.1NJ.com. Man Who Previously Beat Murder Rap Convicted of Killing Mother of 3 She left behind two daughters and a son she shared with Scurry.2People. All About Isiah Pacheco’s Siblings
Investigators tied Scurry to the scene with surveillance video and cellphone data that also connected Clark to the killing.3The Daily Journal. New Jersey Millville Murder Conviction of Donald Scurry and Charles Clark The break came at the Maurice River Bridge in Commercial Township. Clark’s girlfriend, Quashay Brown, told police she had driven Clark across the bridge to a Wawa and watched him throw an object out of the passenger window into the river.4vLex. State v. Scurry A construction crew recovered a 9 mm Luger handgun from beneath the bridge on September 27, 2017, and forensic testing confirmed it as the murder weapon. Scurry, then 25, was arrested that same day on Commerce Street in Bridgeton.56ABC. Arrest Made in Killing of Millville NJ Mom No motive has been publicly stated by prosecutors.
The Charges and the Trial
A Cumberland County grand jury returned an eight-count indictment against both men in December 2017. Scurry was charged with first-degree murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, hindering by concealment or destruction of evidence, and possession of a weapon by a convicted person. Clark was charged with hindering apprehension, tampering with evidence, and obstructing the administration of law, and both men were charged with unlawful possession of a weapon for lacking a firearms permit.6The Daily Journal. Men Indicted in Millville Woman Murder
The two were tried together in an eleven-day jury trial in Cumberland County Superior Court.4vLex. State v. Scurry The state’s case relied on cellphone records and surveillance footage placing Scurry near Cannon’s home at the time of the shooting, along with proof that Clark and Brown transported Scurry to and from the residence and that Clark later tried to dispose of the handgun in the Maurice River.7NJ.com. NJ Man Sentenced to 65 Years for the Murder of Mother of 3
On May 1, 2019, the jury convicted Scurry on five counts, including first-degree murder, hindering his own apprehension, and multiple weapons offenses. Clark was found guilty of second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, third-degree hindering apprehension, fourth-degree tampering with physical evidence, and fourth-degree obstruction of the administration of law.8The Daily Journal. Millville Murder Sentencing of Donald Scurry and Charles Clark
Sentences
On June 21, 2019, Scurry received 55 years for first-degree murder and a consecutive 10-year term for possession of a firearm as a previously convicted felon, totaling 65 years. A concurrent five-year sentence was imposed for hindering his own apprehension.8The Daily Journal. Millville Murder Sentencing of Donald Scurry and Charles Clark Under New Jersey’s No Early Release Act, Scurry must serve at least 85 percent of the murder and weapons sentences before he is eligible for parole.9CBS News Philadelphia. Donald Scurry Sentenced in Murder of Celeste Cannon
Clark was sentenced to eight years for unlawful possession of a handgun, with four years of parole ineligibility, plus a concurrent four-year term for hindering Scurry’s apprehension.7NJ.com. NJ Man Sentenced to 65 Years for the Murder of Mother of 3
The Appeal
Both men appealed. The New Jersey Appellate Division decided the consolidated appeal, filed under docket numbers A-5102-18 and A-2666-20, in an unpublished opinion on December 28, 2023.10New Jersey Courts. State of New Jersey vs. Donald Scurry, et al. One of Scurry’s arguments challenged the trial court’s decision to allow the state to impeach Quashay Brown with a prior inconsistent statement about seeing Clark throw the object from the bridge.4vLex. State v. Scurry Available records do not indicate that the convictions were overturned.
Scurry’s Earlier Murder Acquittal
Scurry had faced a murder charge once before. On Christmas Day 2008, when he was 17, a verbal dispute at the Bridgeton Villas apartment complex turned physical between Scurry and 18-year-old Rakeem Stubbs. Police said Scurry pulled a revolver and fired at least three shots, one of which struck Stubbs in the back. Stubbs died more than twelve hours later at Christiana Hospital in Delaware.11NJ.com. Arrest Made in Christmas Morning Killing Scurry surrendered at Bridgeton City Hall on December 29, 2008, and in April 2012 a Cumberland County Superior Court jury acquitted him of murder and the related weapons charges. Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae said she was “obviously disappointed in the result” but added, “if you believe in the American justice system, you have to respect the way it works. And the jury has spoken.”12The Daily Journal. Millville Murder Arrest Made Scurry did have a separate prior felony conviction on his record, which is why possessing the 9 mm handgun in the Cannon killing produced the additional felon-in-possession charge. The specific prior offense is not identified in available reporting.
Who Celeste Cannon Was
Celeste Felicia Cannon was born on December 25, 1992, graduated from Vineland High School, and was raising three young children at the time of her death. Her parents were Felicia Cannon and Ricky Fowler, and her stepfather was Julio Pacheco.13Edwards and Son Funeral Home. Obituary of Celeste Cannon Among her siblings was her younger half-brother Isiah Pacheco, then a senior and star quarterback at Vineland High School.
Her killing was the second violent loss the family suffered in under two years. Her older brother, Travoise Cannon, was stabbed to death at age 29 on January 10, 2016, during a fight at the Amity Heights Apartments in Bridgeton; Ronald L. Foster Jr. was charged with his murder.14NJ.com. Suspect Charged in Fatal Stabbing of Bridgeton Man Isiah Pacheco later called Celeste his “best friend” and told Newsday ahead of Super Bowl LVII in February 2023, “Those times helped me become the man I am today.”15Newsday. Isiah Pacheco Kansas City Super Bowl Pacheco went on to play college football at Rutgers and was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs, and he has remained active in the lives of Celeste’s three children.2People. All About Isiah Pacheco’s Siblings