A Grand Rapids man will spend decades behind bars for fatally shooting his wife 15 times, a day after she served him divorce papers.
Marcus Durayalle Lofton, 44, was sentenced Thursday, Aug. 7, to 25–50 years in prison for second-degree murder in the killing of his wife, 38-year-old Alicia Lofton, nearly two years ago. He also received a two-year sentence for felony firearms, to be served before his murder sentence begins.
Lofton learned his fate after listening to emotional statements from Alicia’s family members in a Kent County courtroom, according to MLive.
Prosecutors said the couple’s relationship was marked by frequent arguments, sometimes over trivial matters. On Aug. 16, 2023, Alicia served Lofton with divorce papers. The next morning, an argument broke out as Lofton packed his belongings.
According to trial testimony, Lofton became enraged when Alicia told him to get “everything together” for her new man. He took her pistol from a drawer and attempted to strike her with it, but the gun discharged.
Alicia retreated to a bedroom and locked the door. Lofton kicked the door open and fired 15 shots as she tried to climb out a window to escape. Grand Rapids police later found her dead on the ground outside a nearby house. Lofton fled the scene but was arrested a few blocks away.
Initially charged with felony murder, Lofton went to trial, but the proceedings ended in a mistrial when the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict. Rather than face a second trial, Lofton accepted a plea deal, pleading guilty to second-degree murder and felony firearms.
In court Thursday, Lofton appeared in green jail attire and remained expressionless as Alicia’s family addressed him directly. “I just want the world to know that this guy is a piece of garbage,” Alicia’s father, Arthur Joseph, told the court. “I wish I could handle this and serve justice on his a** right now.”
Her aunt, Jennifer Lee, clutched a box of tissues as she described coping with the loss. “For the longest of time after Alicia was taken from us, I kept emailing her,” Lee said. “I know she can’t read emails, she’s gone, but it was an outlet for me to tell her what’s going on.”
Lee called Lofton an embarrassment, saying she never liked his demeanor. When offered a chance to speak, Lofton declined, telling Judge Scott Noto, “No your honor.”