A St. Clair County jury found 40-year-old Jennifer Lynn Goodall guilty of first-degree murder, felony firearm, and purchasing a pistol without a license in the September 2025 shooting death of her boyfriend, 23-year-old Chase Hunter Hoyt, inside the Port Huron home they shared. The couple's 11-year-old child was present during the shooting but was not physically injured.
According to ClickOnDetroit, police were dispatched to the home near 10th Avenue and Washington Avenue in September 2025 after a reported domestic disturbance, and officers found Hoyt inside with a gunshot wound to his abdomen. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he later died, and Goodall was taken into custody at the scene. The fatal shooting took place at the couple's shared residence on the 1400 block of 10th Avenue, according to The Times Herald.
Prosecutors introduced a 911 recording during court proceedings in which Goodall explicitly acknowledged shooting Hoyt the night of the incident, per CrimeSolversCentral. Following her arrest, she was bound over to circuit court and held at the St. Clair County Jail on a 500,000 dollar cash or surety bond, the outlet reports.
Secret Recordings and Threats Described at Trial
Secret Recordings and Threats Described at Trial During the week-long trial in St. Clair County Circuit Court, prosecutors presented audio recordings made by Goodall's daughter, along with a neighbor's expected testimony about an alleged threat to kill Hoyt amid jealousy over their year-long relationship, according to WGRT. The trial centered on dueling narratives: prosecutors argued premeditation, while the defense unsuccessfully argued self-defense.
Goodall's defense counsel acknowledged during opening statements that she pulled the trigger but contended she acted in self-defense during a physical altercation, the station's report states.
Case Delayed by Legal Team Change
The roughly year-long gap between Goodall's September 2025 arrest and her October 2026 trial included a shakeup in her defense team. Her initial public defenders withdrew from the case in April 2026, citing an irreconcilable breakdown in communication, which led Assistant Chief Public Defender Frederick Lepley to take over her defense, per WGRT.
Hoyt and Goodall had been in a relationship that began when Hoyt was approximately 20 years old, creating a 17-year age gap that family members said had been a recurring point of concern, according to CrimeSolversCentral.
Mandatory Life Sentence Looms
Goodall is scheduled to be sentenced at 1:35 p.m. on November 16 in the 31st Circuit Court in St. Clair County. Under Michigan Compiled Laws Section 750.316, a conviction for first-degree premeditated murder carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without eligibility for parole, according to the Michigan Legislature.
Hoyt was hospitalized, and the child was inside the home.
