Yahoo Sports South Mississippi man convicted of murder in domestic violence attack of Coast woman
A jury Thursday convicted a Jackson County man of second-degree murder in the killing of his former girlfriend during a domestic violence attack in South Mississippi.
The Jackson County jury returned the verdict to Judge Kathy King Jackson a short time after deliberating on the case against Terrance Sierra McNaughton, 23.
After the jury couldn’t agree on a life sentence, Jackson sentenced McNaughton to 40 years in prison. He will serve the term day for day and is not eligible for parole.
“The jury saw the truth and found Terrance McNaughton guilty of second-Degree Murder despite the defendant’s efforts to gaslight them,’ District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath said in a press release. “Nina had a voice in the courtroom, and today justice was delivered.”
McIlrath and Assistant District Attorney Carolyn Lewis prosecuted the case.
‘Terrance McNaughton stole a beautiful soul who has impacted many, many lives,’ Lewis said in a release. “I am in awe of the strength shown by Nina’s daughter, who spoke at the sentencing in this case. She demonstrated incredible bravery and poise in facing her mother’s killer.”
The family and prosecutors praised the work of the Gautier Police Department and especially Detective Lt. James McGhee for their work investigating the killing.
McNaughton was initially facing a charge of attempted murder in the killing of his ex-girlfriend, Nina Cumbest, but the charge was upgraded following her death months later in November 2021.
Cumbest, 27, received the injuries that caused her death when McNaughton ran over her in a pickup truck near a Chevron gas station on Mississippi 57 in Gautier on May 6, 2021.
Her mother, Paige Cumbest, said her daughter died at home surrounded by family.
Her death came despite his prior arrests for domestic violence for attacks on her as well as her receiving domestic violence protection order to try to keep her safe from harm.
Prior domestic violence arrests
McNaughton had a history of arrests for attacks on Cumbest.
In October 2020, Mississippi authorities first arrested McNaughton on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge in another assault.
In another incident on April 24, 2021, McNaughton assaulted her and was charged with another count of misdemeanor domestic violence by simple assault and bonded out of jail again.
In the April incident, McNaughton ran his ex-girlfriend’s car off the road and repeatedly punched her through a car window while threatening to kill her.
After McNaughton’s final attack, Cumbest was in a vegetative state at times and mostly hospitalized before her family could bring her home to care for her for months before she passed away.
Nina’s story has received the support of thousands following her case on Nina’s Voice, an online group that has swelled since her death to over 4,500 members wanting to help seek justice for her and to raise awareness of the deadly dangers of domestic violence in Mississippi and across the country.
Many of her supporters question why McNaughton was repeatedly allowed to bond out of jail despite threatening to kill her in previous run-ins with law enforcement.
If you or someone you love is a victim of domestic violence, get help by calling the Gulf Coast Center for Non-Violence at 228-435-1968 or 1-800-800-1396.
