Peoria Standard

A Peoria County jury has found Joshua A. McGee, 39, guilty of First-Degree Murder in the 2021 killing of his girlfriend, Ashley Tankersley. The verdict was delivered after a three-day trial that also resulted in McGee’s conviction for Unlawful Possession of a Weapon by a Felon.

According to authorities, on August 22, 2021, deputies from the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call near Philander Chase Lane and U.S. 150 in Brimfield. Upon arrival, they discovered Tankersley lying in a roadside ditch with two gunshot wounds. She later died at the hospital despite life-saving efforts.

Peoria County Sheriff Chris Watkins, who held the rank of Captain at the time of the incident, led efforts to trace the origin of the emergency call. "Working with dispatch, he repeatedly pinged the device’s location, ultimately tracking McGee to a rest stop in Sherman, Illinois." Law enforcement officers surrounded McGee's vehicle at that location and engaged in a standoff lasting several hours before taking him into custody.

Investigators searching McGee’s vehicle recovered several pieces of evidence including a handgun, two spent shell casings, Tankersley’s purse and phone. Authorities also collected McGee's shoes; forensic testing confirmed they contained Tankersley's blood.

During trial proceedings, an expert in firearms identification testified that the shell casings were fired from the handgun found in McGee's car. Additionally, testimony from a cellular forensics expert established that records and GPS data placed McGee at the scene during the time of Tankersley's death.

Sentencing is scheduled for October 2.

Peoria County schools reported an average student-to-teacher ratio of 15-to-1 during the 2022-23 school year with over 27,000 students enrolled across its schools and nearly 1,850 full-time faculty members (https://www.isbe.net/Pages/Home.aspx). Teacher absenteeism was recorded at just over thirty-two percent—lower than Illinois’ state average (https://www.isbe.net/Pages/Home.aspx). Among local high schools: Dunlap High School had the highest enrollment of white students; Richwoods High School had the highest enrollment among multiracial students; Lincoln School led among Hispanic students; and Peoria High School recorded the highest number of Black students (https://www.isbe.net/Pages/Home.aspx).