According to recently released court documents, the 2020 killing of a Trenton, New Jersey woman has been connected to a disagreement over a $100 debt that she had with a relative of the two siblings charged with her murder.
NJ.com reported that Travis Leiby and Brittany Murdza – aged 34 and 32 respectively – have been charged with firearm, burglary and murder charges following the tragic shooting of Jersey native Starquasia Harris.
The events surrounding Harris’ death were outlined during the indictment. Harris was reportedly killed during a home invasion in January 2020 while at home in her Elm St. residence. Travis and Brittany went to the woman’s house with the intention of retrieving the possessions of a relative that had allegedly gotten into a dispute over the $100 debt with Harris the previous day. The siblings told police during a series of interviews that they were only in the neighborhood before the gunfire was reported, claiming that they stopped by but drove away. They maintained the fact that they were not present during the crime. However, police said that witnesses put Travis and Brittany back on Elm Street – describing a man who fit the brother’s description entering Harris’ home and subsequently hearing shots fired.
Documents said that both siblings are from the Trenton area initially, and while they were arrested in 2020, they were only recently charged this year. The charges brought against them have been listed as burglary for the taking of Harris’ possessions, firearm for the possession of an unregistered weapon, and murder for the killing of Starquasia Harris.
It also clarified that the pair are not related by blood, but rather that they only refer to each other in that way; they explain it as being due to the fact that Travis’ father and Brittany’s mother were in a long-term relationship in the past.
