A 47-year-old Pennsylvania man, William Carey Jr., will spend the rest of his life in prison for the brutal 2024 murder of his girlfriend, Jessica Zipkin. Carey struck her head more than 20 times with a hammer, leaving her brain “partially liquefied.”
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According to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, Carey was found guilty of first-degree murder and possession of an instrument of crime on Thursday, September 11.
As a result, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the mandatory sentence for first-degree murder in the state of Pennsylvania.
VERDICT: After an hour and a half of deliberation, a jury found William Carey Jr. guilty of First-Degree Murder and Possessing an Instrument of Crime in connection to the Nov. 1, 2024 killing of his girlfriend, Jessica Zipkin with a hammer in Perkiomen Township. pic.twitter.com/TT29Q85tLW
— Montgomery County DA (@MontcopaDA) September 11, 2025
As reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer, the incident occurred on November 1, 2024. William Carey Jr. brutally murdered Zipkin by striking her more than 20 times in the head with a hammer. A medical examiner, cited by District Attorney Christian Garfield Taffe, described her brain as “partially liquefied.”
Following Zipkin’s death, Carey attempted to conceal the crime by disposing of his clothes and shoes, even attempting to get a new cell phone, court documents said. However, at around 1:30 a.m. on September 12, he told his building’s owner that there was a woman’s body in his apartment, according to the authorities.
He was then arrested and charged.
Trial, Defense, Outcome
In court, however, his defense tried to pin the murder on drugs. They said that methamphetamine and other drugs had overpowered him to the point of irrationality and that he must be found guilty of third-degree murder instead.
“We know how these drugs can overpower you, how these drugs can overwhelm you,” defense attorney Scott Frame said. “That leads to a loss of being rational, and a loss of being sensible.”
However, prosecutors argued that Carey had expressed hatred toward everything. Therefore, he felt the need to lock himself away from everyone else, including Zipkin, The Reporter detailed.
“She wasn’t giving him that space that he wanted,” Taffe said. “This was a domestic violence homicide. When she wouldn’t give him the space that he desired, he took it into his own hands.”
Eventually, the jury sided with the prosecutors, and William Carey Jr. will die in prison.
While in court, Zipkin’s mother, Jeanette Weiss, directly addressed her daughter’s murderer.
“Billy, you shattered my life. You murdered my baby. You took her away from me,” Weiss said. “I miss her so, so much. You stole a life, needlessly, carelessly, and callously.”
If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, you can reach the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233. You can also chat with a representative at thehotline.org​ or by texting “START” to 88788.