Left: Diamonte Haithcoats (DeKalb County Jail). Right: Shaniyah Rodriguez. Inset: Milliani Rodriguez (Facebook/Rhonda Thompson).
A man from Georgia has been sentenced to life in prison for fatally shooting his pregnant girlfriend and their daughter, who unfortunately only lived for four months after birth.
Following a jury’s decision on Friday, 24-year-old Diamonte Haithcoats was convicted of malice murder, two counts of felony murder, aggravated assault-family violence, and possessing a firearm during a felony that resulted in the deaths of 20-year-old Shaniyah Rodriguez and their infant, Milliani Rodriguez, according to the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office.
After the verdict was reached, Dekalb County Superior Court Judge Yolanda Parker-Smith handed down two life sentences to Haithcoats, with no chance of parole as per the district attorney.
More from Law&Crime: Woman who killed pregnant victim she met on Facebook, cut fetus from womb, ‘claimed’ child as her own to face death penalty trial after double jeopardy appeal rejected
Deputies with the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office responded to a shooting around 5:45 a.m. Feb. 2, 2023, at a condominium complex on Old Singleton Lane in the Atlanta suburb of Clarkston. A resident heard gunfire and went out to investigate. He found a woman later identified as Rodriguez suffering from a gunshot wound to the head.
Paramedics arrived and rushed Rodriguez to the hospital, where doctors performed an emergency cesarean section to deliver her baby. Rodriguez died two days later. Milliani died on June 19, 2023.
Investigators found seven rifle shell casings on the scene, and the witness said he saw a dark-colored SUV driving away after the shooting. Street cameras captured a dark blue Hyundai Palisade leaving the complex. Days later, they found the abandoned Palisade. It had been stolen.
Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.
Rodriguez’s phone had been connected to the vehicle’s Bluetooth just minutes before the 911 call, prosecutors said. Detectives turned on her phone and it automatically connected to the Palisade.
Detectives later learned Rodriguez told a friend her relationship with Haithcoats was falling apart and she feared for his safety. They also placed Haithcoats at the scene via his cellphone.
Adrienne Rodriguez, Shaniyah Rodriguez’s mother and Millani’s grandmother, testified at the trial, according to a courtroom report from Atlanta ABC affiliate WSB.
She began to suspect Haithcoats in the days after the slaying, so she called him and made a recording which the jurors heard.
“Who did this, Monte?” Adrienne Rodriguez reportedly asked.
“I have no idea. No idea,” Haithcoats replied.
“I tried everything to fix that mistake,” she reportedly testified through tears. “That baby was supposed to be here.”
