NORFOLK, Va. — 24-year-old Shaiqui McKesson said he spent 7 months in solitary confinement at the Norfolk jail before a jury found him not guilty of first-degree murder.
His defense attorney Eric Korslund says a surveillance video was central to the verdict.
McKesson says he drove to the Calvert Square neighborhood in Norfolk on July 10, 2025, to meet a woman named Erica Wright to collect $25 she owed him and to sell marijuana.
He said Wright got into his car and pulled a gun on him.
"There was a gun in my face and I'm looking down at the barrel at a bullet," McKesson said.
McKesson fired 9 shots. Wright died.
"It's sad to say that somebody lost their life that day, but it was either me or her," McKesson said.
McKesson drove home after the shooting. Korslund acknowledged that his client's behavior afterward raised red flags.
"Him going home, showering, doing some of these Google searches, cleaning himself up, makes it look like he has what we call consciousness of guilt. He's trying to cover something up," Korslund said.
Police came to McKesson's home, confiscated his car and took him in for questioning. McKesson told investigators Wright had robbed him.
The other gun was never found at the scene, according to Korslund.
Police arrested him for murder anyway and he was held without bond him.
"That was crazy. I'm not even going to lie. I don't even know how to describe it. I was in a cell by myself for 24 hours seven days a week," McKesson said.
WTKR met McKesson outside of the Norfolk jail for the interview.
"There was a small window on the outside of my cell. I'd always be looking up at the Bank of America building over there," McKesson said.
As both sides prepared for trial, a street surveillance video from the scene became a key piece of evidence.
The video showed that after McKesson drove away, another person appeared to pick something up from the area where the shooting took place.
"Few days before the trial, a homicide detective actually spoke to that individual, and he admitted that that was him," Korslund said.
Korslund says the individual claimed he picked up a pair of headphones, but Korslund believes someone removed a gun from the scene. That was never proven, and no one else was ever arrested.
The Norfolk Commonwealth Attorney’s Office tells News 3 they don’t anticipate any other arrests in the case.
Still, Korslund said the video left enough questions that the jury found McKesson not guilty on all charges.
"I just don't buy it for a second, and I don't think the jury bought it for a second either," Korslund said.
Korslund also pointed to McKesson's police interview as significant. He says McKesson's account of the shooting matched the surveillance video — even though McKesson had not yet seen the footage when he spoke to detectives the day of the shooting.
"This is the same day that it happened. Obviously, he didn't see this video before he speaks to two homicide detectives," Korslund said.
McKesson says the video changed everything.
"That video is probably the most important thing that's ever happened in my life to this point. Without it, I'd be on my way to prison right now," McKesson said.
After the verdict, Korslund and his legal team celebrated with the McKesson family.
"They gave us some delicious home cooked food. We had some drinks, and we celebrated. They said a lot of prayers and just a wonderful time," Korslund said.
The attorney says the outcome was a relief he had been working toward since taking the case as he said he believed McKesson from the very beginning.
"I don't have to deal with the anguish of him being convicted. I don't think I could live with that. I don't think I'd be able to stomach it," Korslund said.
McKesson's mother, Lizetta McKesson, says she never stopped believing in her son.
"He could've went to jail for first grade murder for life. I cried many nights, wondering what my son's future was going to be," Lizetta McKesson said.
She says the case is a reminder not to rush to judgment.
"Everything that you see on TV, everything that you see on the Internet is not what it may seem. Find out the facts," Lizetta McKesson said.
McKesson is now studying to become a physical therapist.
"I have a second chance to do anything at this point," McKesson said.
