PEORIA ( 25News Now ) - After almost three and a half hours of deliberation, a Peoria County jury found a man guilty on Wednesday of shooting and killing his girlfriend in 2021 .

The suspect, 39-year-old Joshua McGee, was charged with first degree murder for the August 2021 murder of 37-year-old Ashley Tankersley. Her body was found in a ditch at the intersection of Route 150 and Philander Chase Road.

The coroner said she was shot twice in her upper torso, and died instantly.

According to the Peoria County State’s Attorney’s Office, Peoria County Sheriff Chris Watkins, a captain with the Sheriff’s Office at the time, traced the 911 call to McGee’s phone. Watkins pinged the device’s location, ultimately tracking McGee to a rest stop in Sherman, Illinois.

Law enforcement surrounded t

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