- Maria Rodriguez-Barnes shot and killed her five-month-old son
A lady who had deliberate to homicide her five-month-old child boy left a chilling observe in her truck moments earlier than she took the toddler’s life.
‘I am sorry for what I am about to do,’ Maria Rodriguez-Barnes wrote, in a message left on the truck’s console whereas additionally calling her husband and saying one thing related.
Rodriguez-Barnes, 30, killed the teen on the identical spot the place her husband, Richard Barnes, had proposed to her years earlier.
The March 2020 killing got here after he had requested for a divorce, Florida prosecutors stated.
Rodriguez-Barnes, 30, killed her five-month-old toddler son on the identical spot the place her husband, Richard Barnes, had proposed to her years earlier
‘I am sorry for what I am about to do,’ Maria Rodriguez-Barnes wrote, in a message left on her truck’s console whereas additionally calling her husband and saying one thing related
She then tried to take her personal life however survived, main her to face trial in Okaloosa County, the place she was discovered responsible of premeditated homicide.
The courtroom heard how Rodriguez-Barnes had positioned her son in her Nissan truck and drove to The Boardwalk, a beachside space with eating places and outlets in Fort Walton Seashore on the Florida panhandle.
Whereas within the parking zone, she shot her son, Jaxxon, within the chest, earlier than turning the 9 mm handgun on herself. Police later discovered shell casings contained in the automobile.
‘She took the one factor from their relationship that was treasured, that was the bodily illustration of their relationship,’ stated Assistant State Legal professional Michelle Sandler stated. ‘And since it was truly over — he stated, ‘I am completed’ — she determined to kill her son.’
A witness discovered her found mendacity on the bottom, lined in blood, and known as the police.
A jury convicted the now 35-year-old Rodriguez-Barnes of homicide earlier this week. She was sentenced to life in jail and can spend the remainder of her life behind bars
When a deputy requested her what had occurred, she solely stated that she had problem respiration and stated nothing about her son.
It wasn’t till a deputy trying to find the weapon that the child’s physique was discovered on the ground of the truck, slumped over a pillow.
Prosecutors argued that the kid’s demise was premeditated. Except for the observe suggesting she was about do one thing horrific, she had additionally despatched messages to members of the family earlier that morning, detailing her plan.
“There’s not assertion that present’s premeditation extra and exhibits planning greater than that,’ prosecutor Sandler stated.
A jury convicted the now 35-year-old Rodriguez-Barnes of homicide earlier this week, stories the Solar Herald.
She was sentenced to life in jail and can spend the remainder of her life behind bars.
