An Alabama woman will be spending the rest of her life in prison after she fatally shot another woman whose child was fathered by the same man.
The Birmingham Police Department announced that Aaniyah Nowden, who was eight months pregnant at the time of the crime, was charged with capital murder in connection to the 2023 death of Justina Wallace.
After she was found guilty, Nowden, 24, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Friday, May 29, according to AL.com. She received the sentence after prosecutors sought for her to be given the death penalty.
The crime took place on July 7, 2023, when Wallace, 36, was at a home in Birmingham. Wallace, who was several months pregnant at the time, was reportedly holding her toddler daughter and two of her sons were present when Nowden approached her with a gun.
Nowden fired the gun and Wallace was struck.
Wallace was then brought to an area hospital, where she died the following day after succumbing to her injuries.
While Nowden’s motive has not been confirmed, the father of Wallace’s toddler was also the father of Nowden’s child, according to AL.com. Nowden later gave birth while she was in police custody after the killing.
Nowden previously claimed she killed Wallace in self-defense, with her attorneys claiming in court that Wallace was “aggressive” and “belligerent” on the day of the shooting. Meanwhile, prosecutors argued that Wallace presented no threat to Nowden.
“This defendant shot and killed a pregnant woman who was carrying nothing but her baby Sky in her arms,” Deputy District Attorney Jason Wilson said during the trial, per AL.com. “Justina had no weapon, no gun, she wasn’t attacking anybody.”
According to the outlet, Nowden’s first trial reportedly ended in a mistrial because there were not enough jurors after the prosecution and defense ruled several potential jurors out.
The case did eventually go to trial and the jurors found Nowden guilty of the shooting on Thursday, May 28.
“We are grateful for the hard work and verdict reached by the jurors in this case. The Deputy District Attorneys both did a wonderful job along with the law enforcement agency responsible. However, the reality is when emotions are high logic is low. There is absolutely no winners in this case,” Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr said following Nowden’s guilty verdict, per WBRC. “People need to think before they grab that gun and change their lives forever. There are real consequences when you engage in violent emotional acts in Jefferson County.”
