ANDERSON COUNTY, Tenn. (Court TV) — A Tennessee man pleaded guilty in the shooting death of his mother and was sentenced to thirty years in prison.
Shawn Willis appears in court at his plea hearing Aug. 11, 2025. (Court TV)
Shawn T. Willis was 16 years old when he shot and killed Sandy Willis as she was sleeping on April 20, 2020, according to prosecutors. Shawn, now 21, was charged as an adult with first-degree murder. In a plea agreement, he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of second-degree murder the day before his trial was scheduled to begin with jury selection.
Prosecutors said that Shawn consented to be interviewed with the approval and consent of his father on May 5, 2020. During the interview, he confessed to shooting his mother with her own pistol. Shawn told investigators he took the firearm as she was sleeping, brought it downstairs to load it, then returned to her bedroom and shot her “at close range, on the left side of her head.”
No motive was disclosed in court; however, court documents obtained by WBIR state that Shawn allegedly killed his mother because he was angry that she took away his cellphone.
After pleading guilty, Shawn’s father and brother delivered victim impact statements sharing their pain over losing a wife and mother who survived breast cancer.
The judge sentenced Shawn to thirty years in prison with no chance of parole. After being sentenced, Shawn apologized to his family and said he was taking responsibility for his actions, hoping to rebuild a relationship with them in the future.
