A woman accused of fatally shooting an ex-boyfriend she called her "sugar daddy" is now facing trial on homicide and related charges.

Jennifer Lynn Morrissey shot Michael McNew in the face in his home on the Delaware River in Bucks County, then tried to make the crime look like a robbery, prosecutors allege.

Morrissey's defense attorney, S. Philip Steinberg, argued an alleged confession in prison described the killing as an accidental shooting, not a murder.

Following the preliminary hearing on Monday, a district judge sent all the charges against Morrissey to county court, where she now faces possible trial.

Morrissey is being held without bail.

Morrissey, 33, and McNew, 64, lived together for about two years, but he'd ordered her to move out of his house after a falling out, prosecutors said.

The night of Aug. 6, prosecutors said Morrissey headed to McNew's house against his wishes and sent a series of threatening text messages.

McNew, a pharmaceutical manager, was found dead in a chair in his River Road home on Aug. 8, and a bullet casing on the floor nearby. He'd been killed two days prior and one of his registered guns was missing.

Morrissey was arrested afterward on an unrelated matter, and investigators said she confessed to a cellmate in the county prison that she accidentally killed McNew.

Morrissey was charged Sept. 29 in the case.

Texts and Call phone records

When first interviewed by police, Morrissey reportedly said her current boyfriend was to blame for the killing and the last time she was at McNew's home was July 31.

Investigators said records showed Morrissey's cellphone connecting to cell towers near McNew's home between 9:34 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. on Aug. 6, and auto-connecting to a wireless router inside McNew's house at 9:37 p.m. that night.

Records also showed McNew's phone at his house from 9 p.m. on Aug. 6 until about 1 a.m. Aug. 7, when the phone began traveling away from his home. McNew's phone last connected to a cell network in the early morning of Aug. 7 near Yardley borough, close to the Delaware River.

A search of Morrissey's iPhone found user-deleted text messages that showed the two argued the night of Aug. 6.

McNew texted that he was boxing up her belongings and putting them in storage for her to pick up, and that she was not welcome at his home.

He texted "he would defend himself if she came into his home," according to court papers, and he had two registered firearms in his home.

Morrissey texted back "get the gun ready cause I'm coming, I already told you that I'll be there tonight ... guess you're just gonna have to shoot me," prosecutor's reported.

Another text from Morrissey stated, "I'm gonna stab ya" and "I'll gut you like I'm field dressing a [expletive] deer."

Two informants reported Morrissey told them she'd gone to McNew's home to confront him, wrested away a gun he was holding and accidentally shot him, according to investigators. Those two said she went back to the home to stage a robbery scene.

Bucks County Detective Eric Landamia testified on Monday about the alleged prison confession.

The cellmate reported Morrissey described knocking McNew's gun from his hand, struggling with McNew for control of the gun, pushing him into a chair and accidentally shooting him while trying to unload the weapon, the detective testified.

Morrissey, who called McNew "my sugar daddy," allegedly went back to the house after the shooting and tried to make the crime look like a robbery. Investigators allege she turned McNew's pockets inside-out, and took his gun, cellphone and laptop.

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.