The court is weighing psychiatric testimony, childhood-abuse allegations and prosecutors’ warnings about the need to protect the public.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Testimony about severe mental illness and alleged childhood sexual abuse has become central to the sentencing of a Jacksonville woman who admitted killing a man she had known since she was a child.
Journee McGrew, 22, pleaded guilty to killing Waduta Londrell Woodley, 41, at a Westside apartment complex in July 2025. A judge postponed McGrew’s sentencing Friday until Aug. 17 to allow more time to review evidence from several hearings. The state is seeking life in prison, while the defense is asking for a sentence that could eventually permit her release and continued mental health care.
The competing recommendations place McGrew’s psychiatric history at the center of the court’s decision. Her attorneys say her disorders greatly impaired her thinking and behavior. Prosecutors say those same conditions make strict, long-term supervision necessary and argue that they do not excuse a deliberate killing.
Clinical neuropsychologist Kathrin Ritter, who helped treat McGrew, testified that McGrew retained some understanding at the time of Woodley’s death but had a significantly reduced ability to regulate her conduct, control impulses, assess threats and consider the consequences of her actions.
McGrew’s mother, Jennifer Owens, testified that her daughter had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. Owens said she had seen McGrew receive treatment. McGrew also previously testified that she had been diagnosed with psychosis and post-traumatic stress disorder after being taken for an involuntary mental health examination before the killing.
The defense argued that McGrew’s reasoning had become disorganized and that her actions were connected to delusions and a perceived need for self-preservation. Her lawyer asked the court to impose a sentence that recognizes the seriousness of the killing but still leaves open the possibility that McGrew could re-enter society after treatment.
Prosecutors took the opposite position. They argued that McGrew’s history shows she can become violent when paranoid or delusional and that public safety depends on her receiving medication without interruption. The state said incarceration would provide the structure needed to ensure that treatment continues.
The state also described the killing as an intentional act of retaliation. Prosecutors said McGrew chose to punish Woodley herself instead of taking her allegations to police. They asked the judge not to treat her mental health history or abuse claims as grounds for a sentence less than life.
McGrew testified that Woodley began sexually abusing her when she was in elementary school and continued for years. She said she had known him since childhood and at one point lived with him. She said she feared she would be forced from the home if she reported the alleged abuse.
McGrew said she told friends when she was younger but did not disclose the allegations to relatives or medical providers until she was in her 20s. Prosecutors said she first told her mother in 2024 and never made a report to law enforcement. A criminal background check cited by News4JAX found no record of Woodley being charged with offenses related to child sexual abuse. His ability to respond to McGrew’s claims ended with his death, and the allegations were never resolved in court.
Police said they responded to the Cross Creek apartment complex early July 2, 2025, after a reported dispute. Officers found Woodley outside McGrew’s apartment with fatal blunt-force injuries. Investigators said evidence found inside the residence included a hammer and clothing with blood on it.
According to the arrest report, McGrew told investigators she had invited Woodley to the apartment after sending messages suggesting a sexual encounter. She said her goal was to collect evidence related to the alleged abuse, not to kill him. She acknowledged striking him and later told the court she had not been in her right mind.
McGrew apologized to Woodley’s relatives during an earlier hearing. Woodley’s mother told the court that the loss of her only son had changed her family’s life and left relatives struggling to cope. McGrew’s family, meanwhile, asked the judge to consider her psychiatric history and prior vulnerability without viewing those factors as a justification for the killing.
Judge Lindsay Tygart said she needed additional time to review the extensive testimony and evidence before selecting a sentence. McGrew remains in custody, with the next hearing scheduled for Aug. 17.
Author note: Last updated Aug. 1, 2026.