Maryland Man Faces 1st-Degree Murder Charges In Connection with Lower Moreland Woman Death

LOWER MORELAND, PA — A Maryland man accused of shooting to death his ex-girlfriend in her Lower Moreland home in late 2019 went on trial Monday at the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, according to local news reports and court records.

William Tomas Torres, 63, of Elkon, MD, is facing first-degree murder charges in connection with the slaying of Jeanne Edwards, who died just before 5:30 in the afternoon of Nov. 25, 2019 after being shot to death at her home on the 2300 block of Dale Road, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office.

He is looking at life imprisonment if convicted.

Torres was arrested in Limerick Township, Montgomery County after allegedly confessing his crime to his then-girlfriend at her home, according to media reports and county prosecutors.

The investigation began when Lower Moreland Police were called to the home of Edwards by her adult son, who said he had arrived home from work and heard a “pop” as he pulled into the driveway.

When he entered the house, the son, Alex Edwards of Lower Moreland, said he encountered Torres standing in a doorway and holding a shotgun pointed at him, according to prosecutors.

Torres, whom Alex Edwards knew as his mother’s former boyfriend, then fled the home to his then-girlfriend’s house in Limerick, where he was subsequently arrested by Limerick police officers.

An autopsy performed by a forensic pathologist with the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office determined that Jeanne Edwards died as a result of multiple shotgun wounds to the torso, according to the county D.A.’s Office.

Lower Moreland police charged Torres with first-degree murder, third-degree murder, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and possession of an instrument of crime. Records show that Torres was held for court on all five charges.

The case is being prosecuted by Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Brianna Ringwood.

Torres is being represented by attorney Carrie Lynn Allman with the Montgomery County Public Defender’s Office.

Court records show that the trial is expected to last about a week or so.

Local news coverage of the trial's first day can be found here.