A Stone Mountain man, Diamonte Haithcoats, has been convicted of the murder of his pregnant girlfriend Shaniyah Rodriguez, and the subsequent death of their child, according to the DeKalb County District Attorney's office. The jury found 24-year-old Haithcoats guilty on May 9, for an array of charges that included Malice Murder, Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault – Family Violence, and Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, after the shooting which took place on February 2, 2023. The conviction is detailed on the District Attorney's official website.
The investigation unraveled when a resident at a condo complex heard gunshots in the early hours of the day and discovered Rodriguez with a fatal gunshot wound to the head, this resident then made a 911 call around 5:45 a.m., Rodriguez was quickly transported to Grady Memorial Hospital, where she underwent an emergency cesarean but succumbed to her injuries two days later, her daughter Milliani Rodriguez, who was delivered prematurely, died four months after on June 19, 2023, during the trial, DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Yolanda Parker-Smith sentenced Haithcoats to consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole plus an additional five years imprisonment.
Evidence presented at the trial included the recovery of seven rifle shell casings from the scene and a witness report of a dark-colored SUV, later identified as a stolen dark blue Hyundai Palisade, departing the area shortly after the gunshots were heard. Flock Safety cameras in the vicinity captured footage of the vehicle leaving just after the shooting, bolstering the case against Haithcoats.
Rodriguez's phone was used to reveal a Bluetooth connection to the "Palisade" mere minutes before the shooting, which, when turn on near the recovered vehicle, automatically reconnected, indicating proximity between the victim's phone and the suspect vehicle, phone data for Haithcoats also showed his device leaving the area just after Rodriguez’s death, while interviews with the police depicted Haithcoats as evasive about the couple's relationship and paternity of the child, this added to the prosecution's argument supported by the Senior Assistant District Attorney Paige Boorman and the dedicated investigative team.
