Texas man gets life in prison for fatally shooting pregnant GF weeks after 'joyful' gender reveal party
Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.
MANSFIELD, TEXAS: A Fort Worth man has received a life sentence for fatally shooting his 26-year-old pregnant girlfriend in the back of her head on June 29, 2020.
Maurice Kelso Smith shot Darionne Burley to death a few weeks after the couple celebrated a gender reveal party for their soon-to-be twin boys. The unborn twins also died in the fatal shooting.
Smith fled the crime scene and drove to Mansfield where he carjacked a woman at gunpoint but was arrested on the same day and hit with charges of capital murder, aggravated robbery, and parole violation, the US Sun reports.
District Court Judge Robert P Brotherton ordered Maurice to serve a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for the slayings of Darionne and the unborn kids, Law&Crime reports.
The verdict was officially delivered following a jury's determination of Smith's guilt in the capital murder case involving the fatal shooting. In instances where the death penalty is not sought by the state in capital murder cases, convicted defendants are obliged to serve a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole.
What happened to Darionne Burley?
The Mansfield Police Department responded to a call on June 29, 2020, reporting a carjacking at gunpoint in the 1600 block of the North US Highway 287 frontage road. According to the victim's account to the emergency dispatcher, the carjacker, later identified as Maurice Kelso Smith, arrived in a separate vehicle, abandoned it, and then proceeded to steal her car.
Upon arrival, first responders made contact with the victim of the carjacking and subsequently located the Honda Civic that Smith had been driving before stealing the other woman’s car. Inside the Civic, authorities found Burley, who appeared to have suffered a gunshot wound to the back of her head.
Detectives identified Smith as Burley’s boyfriend and dispatched units to his address.
Upon reaching his residence, police reportedly discovered Smith in the act of destroying physical evidence and attempting to clean the stolen car. They also allegedly found Smith’s clothing covered in blood, along with a gun that ballistics testing matched as the weapon used to kill Burley.
Investigators revealed that Smith, a convicted felon, had a friend purchase the gun for him illegally the day before the shooting. Notably, Burley contributed approximately $250 towards the purchase of the weapon that ultimately ended her life.
A family member testified during the trial that Smith shot and killed Burley following a "joyful gender reveal party." After his arrest, Smith was taken to a hospital for a suspected overdose, but medical professionals concluded that he was feigning intoxication and memory loss.
