On March 4, a 32-year-old Texas man accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend in 2020 was sentenced.
Maurice Kelso Smith was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of 26-year-old Darionne Burley. Burley was pregnant with twins at the time of her death.
On June 29, 2020, Smith and Burley were last seen exiting a Waffle House in the Fort Worth area. Within the hour, Smith shot Burley in the back of the head.
He then drove to Mansfield where he stole a woman’s car at gunpoint. He left his car at the scene of the robbery, where police discovered Burley in a bloody crime scene, according to court documents.
Detectives found Smith at his home trying to clean the stolen car and destroy evidence of the murder and learned he robbed someone else in that neighborhood as well, and found Smith’s clothes, which were covered in blood, and the murder weapon.
Police arrested Smith the same day for aggravated robbery following a carjacking at gunpoint after the deadly shooting.
Ballistic evidence matched the firearm to the shell casing in the car where Burley was found and investigators discovered Smith illegally purchased the gun the day before.
During the trial, the jury heard that despite having a “joyful gender reveal party,” the month before, Smith also assaulted Burley in early June and was heavily using drugs at the time.
He received an automatic sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for the crime.
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