Bensalem Male Gets Prison For Trailer Park Murder
by Alex Lloyd Gross
On November 25, 2022, Josh Cooper,then a 16 year old teen was alone in his father’s trailer on Gibson Road with 12 year old Morgan Connors. They were talking and just hanging out, when Cooper went to his fathers gun safe and took out the batteries. That defeated the combination lock and he was able to get a gun.
When Connors left to use the bathroom, Cooper picked up the gun ,pointed it in her direction and pulled the trigger. He did not say why. During a preliminary hearing, Cooper claimed to be ill on the stand and then waived his preliminary hearing. He would later plead guilty to third-degree murder, possession of an instrument of crime, and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence. You can read more here.
In a negotiated guilty plea, he was sentenced to 15 to 40 years in state prison. Given credit for time served, he could be out in 13 years. Just after the shooting, Cooper went on social media and filmed the crime scene while asking a friend to help him clean it up. That friend notified an adult and police were called. Cooper scurried out of the trailer upon police arrival.
He was found less than a half mile away on foot. Josh Cooper initially entered a plea of not guilty.
Alex Lloyd Gross Photo-Delaware Valley News.com The crime scene on Gibson Road
During sentencing, Chief Deputy District Attorney Kristin M. McElroy read an impact statement from the victim’s grandfather who described the “intense pain and heartbreak” of losing his granddaughter Morgan Conners. “The human heart is not built for such heartbreak,” the letter read.