A Florida man has been convicted of killing his pregnant girlfriend after she refused to have an abortion.
Donovan Faison, 23, was found guilty of first-degree murder, killing an unborn child, and burglary, according to reports. He now faces the possibility of the death penalty, with the sentencing phase of his trial beginning on Wednesday.
Faison shot 18-year-old Kaylin Fiengo in the head as she sat in her car at Coastline Park in Sanford on 11 November 2022. He was arrested ten months later after investigators determined he had lured her to the park with the intention of killing her.
The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office uncovered text messages between Faison and Fiengo that revealed his anger over her pregnancy. Fiengo had informed him she was pregnant by sending a picture of positive test results. Faison replied by accusing her of lying and wrote, “Abortion!!!” according to Matt Reed, public information officer for the State Attorney’s Office in Florida’s 18th Judicial Circuit.
Prosecutors told the court that Faison was “angry and felt pressured” because he was living with another woman who suspected he was being unfaithful. They cited a text he sent to a friend referring to Fiengo’s refusal to terminate the pregnancy, in which he wrote, “On my brother’s grave, I’m gonna crop her out.”
Shortly after sending that message, Faison persuaded Fiengo to meet him at the park, where he fatally shot her and left her and her unborn baby inside the vehicle. Investigators later found an ultrasound image of the baby near her body.
A friend of the victim testified that Fiengo had told her she planned to meet Faison at the park that night. Prosecutors also highlighted a text message Faison sent to a friend shortly before the killing.
“He said he was going to do it, then he did it. The police got the right guy,” said Domenick Leo, a witness for the prosecution.
Faison’s defence attorney did not respond to requests for comment.