Madison McGhee was 6 years old when she learned that her father died. It wasn't until she got older that she learned her dad, John Cornelius "J.C." McGhee, had been shot to death in a case that's since gone cold. Now, she's investigating.
Madison McGhee was 6 years old when she received devastating news. The little West Virginia girl, who lived with her mom, was preparing to go spend time with her father and his family in Ohio when she learned in July 2002 that her father had suddenly died. At the time, McGhee says, she was told he had a heart attack. It wasn't until she got older that she learned the truth: John Cornelius "J.C." McGhee was shot to death in what was reportedly investigated as a home invasion. He was 45.
The case has never been solved. So Madison McGhee, now 28, has taken it upon herself to investigate her father's killing in hopes of closing this case after more than 20 years.
First, she had to learn all about the father she had to grow up without. At times, the things she learned about her dad were complicated, she says.
"He was a dad, but he also was a businessman and a little bit of a colored character, a bit shady at times," McGhee tells Inside Edition Digital. "My mom says that he's the shadiest person that she knew, but also funny and kind and generous. My dad was a drug dealer. He also became a confidential informant, so sort of turned on the people that he used to consider colleagues."
Over the past several years, McGhee says she has interviewed investigators, family members and friends of her dad. She took her research and turned it into the podcast, Ice Cold Case. She says she hopes by laying out all the information about who J.C. McGhee was and what happened to him, someone will be compelled to come forward with the real story of how his life ended.
"On July 11, 2002, my dad was shot in the doorway of his home in Belmont County, Ohio," McGhee tells Inside Edition Digital. "The greater circumstances surrounding that morning include a home invasion next door where my dad's family also lived, and these three or four or five or six men ended up at my dad's house, shot him in the doorway and left and have never been caught."
That was the explanation of the day's events investigators and research could provide McGhee. But she says it doesn't make much sense.
"They were next door to my dad's house for 30 to 45 minutes. Not a single person in that house ended up dead," she says. "They were at my dad's house for maybe 60 seconds and my dad ended up dead and they never even entered the house. Nothing was stolen. It didn't seem like they were going to rob my dad. So just the circumstances surrounding that seemed very suspicious for it to be a home invasion gone wrong."
McGhee says she can't help but wonder if her father's work as an alleged drug dealer or confidential informant had something to do with his death and why the case hasn't been solved. Inside Edition Digital's request for information from the Belmont County Prosecutor's office went unanswered.
"I think it's easy to sort of shrug off people like my dad, and I hope that the way that I tell my story, through my perspective as a daughter, it draws people in a way where they feel empathy for my dad," she says. "Even if they don't necessarily support his lifestyle choices, he didn't deserve to die."
Ice Cold Case is available wherever you listen to podcasts. Madison McGhee says she is also taking tips and information through her website.
