Granddaughter Pleads Guilty to Capital Murder in Galveston County Killing, Sentenced to Life

GALVESTON, TX – 18-year-old Tara Lynn King pleaded guilty to capital murder, receiving an automatic life sentence for her role in the killing of her grandmother, Tammy King, nearly a year after the crime and just days before jury selection was set to begin in her trial.

Shortly before midnight on February 6, 2025, deputies with the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office responded to a welfare check at a home in Bacliff after a family member reported he had not heard from his girlfriend or granddaughter for more than a day. After forcing entry into the residence, deputies discovered the body of 61-year-old Tammy King, who had been shot in the head and concealed beneath a pile of sheets.

Investigators determined the home had been barricaded from the inside, with mattresses blocking windows and a dryer positioned against a rear door. Evidence later revealed that Tara King and her boyfriend, Uriah Urick, planned the killing over several weeks, using social media to arrange transportation north in exchange for money and firearms. The pair were eventually apprehended in Laredo and indicted on charges of capital murder and credit and debit card abuse.

Although Urick was identified as the shooter, prosecutors charged Tara King under the law of parties, which allows co-actors who actively assist in a crime to be held equally responsible. In November, Uriah Urick was convicted of capital murder for murder of his girlfriend’s grandmother and sentenced to life without parole.

King entered her guilty plea before trial proceedings began. Because she was 17 years old at the time of the offense, U.S. Supreme Court precedent bars a sentence of life without parole. As a result, King will be eligible for parole after serving 40 years of her life sentence.

The case was prosecuted by Chief Assistant District Attorney Kate Willis and Assistant District Attorney Michael Rinehart of the Galveston County Criminal District Attorney’s Office. Authorities credited the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office, Laredo Police Department, Webb County Sheriff’s Office, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and the U.S. Marshals Service for their work in bringing the case to a conclusion.