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A Jacksonville woman was found guilty by a jury Thursday for shooting and killing a pregnant woman's unborn baby, The Florida Times-Union reports.
According to prosecutors Virginia Denise Wyche, 36, shot Makeisha Nicole Brooks, 24, in the stomach after Brooks went to Wyche’s house to discuss rude comments made on Facebook. Wyche did not approve of the baby name suggestions made by Brooks' friends and used “profane and vulgar language,” the Times-Union reports.
Wyche reportedly wanted to help Brooks with her unplanned pregnancy and was planning to throw a baby shower for her.
Assistant public defender Al Perkins claims that Wyche shot Brooks out of self-defense because Brooks and her sister were verbally abusing her at the front door of Wyche's home, and Brooks slapped her after Wyche told them to leave.
But Brooks denies slapping Wyche and said she wasn’t expecting a violent situation, even after she saw Wyche had a gun in her waistband, the Times-Union reports.
“I said, ‘Are you going to shoot me’ and she said, ‘I might,’ ” Brooks said to the jury. “I kind of laughed that off.”
Brooks lived but her unborn child, who was to be named Peyton, died after Brooks was shot in the uterus from about a foot away.
“Baby Peyton fought for her life,” said assistant state attorney Alan Mizrahi in opening statements. “But because the bullet when through face, back and shoulder and severed her connection with the umbilical cord, she lost oxygen and died.”
Wyche will be sentenced the week of Aug. 31 and could face at least 50 years in prison, the Times-Union reports. She was convicted of second-degree murder of the unborn baby and second-degree attempted murder of Brooks.
Read more at Jacksonville.com
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