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Aaniyah Nowden (Birmingham Police Department).
An Alabama woman has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for fatally shooting a pregnant woman in the presence of her children while she herself was expecting a child.
Aaniyah Nowden, 24, faced a capital murder charge in connection with the killing of 36-year-old Justina Wallace, as confirmed by the Birmingham Police Department in an announcement made during the summer of 2023.
On Friday, Nowden was handed a life sentence following her conviction, according to a report from AL.com. Initially, prosecutors had sought the death penalty for Nowden.
The tragic incident occurred on July 7, 2023, at a residence located on the 3200 Block of 17th Avenue North in Birmingham, a city with a population of approximately 200,000 situated in the heart of Alabama.
According to reports, Wallace, who was several months pregnant, was holding her toddler daughter with two of her sons nearby when Nowden, who was eight months pregnant at the time, approached and fired a gun, fatally wounding Wallace.
The shooting victim was subsequently brought to an area hospital where she died the following day.
The father of Wallace’s toddler is said to also be the father of Nowden’s child. The defendant’s child was born after the killing while she was in custody, according to the local outlet.
Though Nowden claimed self-defense and her attorneys claimed Wallace was “aggressive” and “belligerent” on the day in question, prosecutors asserted that she presented no threat to the younger woman.
“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, according to AL.com. “Justina had no weapon, no gun, she wasn’t attacking anybody.”
Nowden’s first trial reportedly ended in a mistrial earlier this month because there were not enough jurors after the prosecution and defense ruled several out. The trial did play out, eventually, with jurors ultimately finding Nowden at fault in the shooting.