Portsmouth Ax Murderer Sentenced To Life In Prison

NEWPORT, RI — A Portsmouth man was sentenced to life in prison for murdering his landlord with an ax.

Jacob Morrill, 27, was found guilty of first-degree murder following a March trial.

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Morrill was also found guilty of driving a vehicle without the consent of the owner, and fraudulent use of a credit card for using his landlord's debit card to pay a utility bill the same day he murdered him, according to a media release from the Rhode Island Attorney General's Office.

Related: Portsmouth Tenant Kills Landlord With An Axe: Police

The landlord, 50-year-old Xuefeng Wu, left his Tiverton home early in the morning of May 22, 2023, and never returned, police said at the time.

The Tiverton police requested that the Portsmouth conduct a well-being check at Wu's rental property on West Main Road in that town.

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Officers spoke with Morrill, a tenant at the property, who told them Wu stopped by earlier in the day but left to go to court in Providence, police said.

Later that day, according to the Portsmouth police, the department received a tip that a crime had occurred at the West Main Road residence.

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About 10 minutes after officers returned to the address, Morrill called the law and told the desk officer he struck and killed Wu, police said.

Officers found Wu's body down a path in the woods close to Morrill's home, police said.

Morrill had "described" where Wu would be found, according to the Attorney General's press release.

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Morrill struck Wu in the head with a small ax during an argument in a garage at the rental property, then hid the body in the woods, police said at the time.

Officers found the ax in Morrill's home, according to police.

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