An Alabama man has been given a life sentence after pleading guilty to a savage attack that killed a pregnant LaGrange woman and her unborn child in 2022. Thirty-year-old Curteze Avery of Lafayette, Alabama, will spend his life behind bars for the murder of 26-year-old Breanna Burgess, with a chance for parole in 2052, as reported by FOX 5 Atlanta.
On a routine patrol in July 2022, police discovered Burgess's body near Fort Drive and Whitesville Road in LaGrange, with over a dozen stab wounds to her throat. Through phone records, and traffic camera footage, investigators traced Burgess's last known interactions back to Avery, driving away in a neon green Chevrolet Camaro. At a LaGrange home, detectives found the car with blood on its exterior and Avery inside, with more incriminating blood-stained clothes in the washer and dryer.
The forensic analysis by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab confirmed the blood matched Burgess's. Alongside Avery, Shallandra Freeman was also arrested and charged with murder and feticide, though her case remains unresolved. The Coweta Judicial Circuit District Attorney John Herbert Cranford Jr. stated, "For this, it is just that he is now sentenced to serve life in prison," highlighting a form of resolution brought to Burgess's family despite their irrevocable loss.
In a similar case of deadly domestic violence, a Sterling Heights man, 31-year-old Damarion Goler, faces charges after allegedly killing his pregnant girlfriend and their unborn child, per details shared by CBS News Detroit. The accused was arraigned on charges including second-degree murder, assault of a pregnant individual, tampering with evidence, and concealing the death of an individual. The authorities located Goler and the deceased girlfriend, Talic Mersina in her car, situated in the parking lot of his mother's apartment building in Clinton Township after the incident.
Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido stated, "The defendant allegedly chose to take the life of his pregnant girlfriend, someone who trusted and loved him. Justice demands that he face the consequences of his crimes," underscoring the gravity of the actions against Mersina and her unborn child, as reported by CBS News Detroit. A probable cause conference is set for April 3, with the preliminary examination scheduled for April 10, as Goler remains in custody without bond. These cases, both tragic and alarming, continue to underscore the prevalence of violence against women, particularly expectant mothers, in our society.
