They Lured Her Deep Into the Woods – All Because They Wanted to Know What It Felt Like to Ki-ll
THEY LURED HER INTO THE WOODS — JUST TO SEE WHAT KILLING SOMEONE FELT LIKE
THE MURDER OF MAKIA CONEY
Jacksonville, Florida | February 10, 2010
The school day had ended like any other.
Students at University Christian School were leaving campus, talking with friends, and heading home.
Seventeen-year-old Makia Coney should have been doing the same.
Instead, investigators say two of her classmates convinced her to leave with them.
She never made it home.
According to investigators, 16-year-old Connor Pridgen and 17-year-old Charles Southern lured Makia to a wooded area near Powers Avenue after school on February 10, 2010.
Once they arrived, authorities say Makia was shot twice with a handgun.
One of the bullets struck her in the head.
She was left in the woods.
When Makia failed to return home, her family knew something was wrong.
Later that day, her body was discovered in the same wooded area where investigators say she had been taken.
As detectives pieced together what happened, they uncovered a motive that shocked the community.
According to investigators, the two teenagers said they wanted to know what it felt like to kill someone.
Charles Southern later claimed he participated out of what he described as “stupidity,” saying he went along with the plan in an effort to prove something to Connor Pridgen.
Within days of the murder, both teenagers had confessed to classmates and later to investigators.
They were arrested and charged in Makia’s death.
In July 2010, Connor Pridgen and Charles Southern pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, avoiding a first-degree murder trial that could have resulted in life without parole.
Both were initially sentenced to life in prison.
Years later, changes in Florida law following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Miller v. Alabama made both men eligible for sentence review because they were juveniles at the time of the murder.
In 2017, Charles Southern’s sentence was modified to life with the possibility of a sentence review after 25 years. By 2018, he continued pursuing additional legal motions seeking further leniency.
Connor Pridgen also became eligible for a resentencing hearing under Florida’s revised juvenile sentencing laws.
Makia’s murder also led to changes beyond the courtroom.
Following delays in the initial response to her missing person report, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office revised its policies to require immediate dispatch for missing person calls unless they involve habitual runaways with no indication of foul play.
Her family later filed a lawsuit against University Christian School and University Baptist Church, alleging inadequate security and supervision in the after-school program.
Makia Coney was only 17 years old.
She left school expecting to go home.
Instead, her life ended in a wooded area after investigators say she was betrayed by classmates she trusted.
