Michigan woman admits fatally shooting Merrillville man in ‘polyamorous’ relationship

A Michigan woman admitted she fatally shot a Merrillville man whom she was in a “polyamorous” relationship for a few days, according to court documents.

Princess Thurman, 23, pleaded to battery by means of a deadly weapon, a level 5 felony. If a judge accepts the deal, it would knock several decades off a potential prison sentence.

She would face 1-6 years, instead of 45-65 years for a murder charge. A sentencing hearing is April 7.

Police arrived around 6:15 p.m. Dec. 20, 2020, to an apartment on the 5700 block of Grant Street in Merrillville to find a man shot near the front door.

Masceo Robinson, 20, was transported to Methodist Southlake in Merrillville with potentially fatal gunshot wounds to the abdomen and buttocks. He had no pulse on arrival and was pronounced dead soon after, documents state.

Another woman, who had been in an “on again and off again” relationship with Robinson, said all three had been hanging out at her apartment. Thurman was his new girlfriend, she told police, but all three were seeing if they could make a “polyamorous” relationship work.

They were hanging out in her living room when Robinson asked Thurman to talk to him in a bedroom, the woman told police. The two got into a “heated argument” where she saw him push Thurman, documents show.

The woman told Robinson he “was not going to do that” in her apartment and Thurman could leave if she wanted, records state. Robinson returned to the living room. Thurman also came back, going through her purse, before going into the bathroom for a bit.

The woman told police she was looking at her phone when she heard gunshots. She looked up to see Thurman holding a purple gun, records show.

The woman tended to Robinson after he fell to the floor. Thurman said she was “sorry” when asked why she did it, documents said.