A Pitt County man has been sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison after admitting he killed his pregnant girlfriend and their unborn child in 2023, a crime that rattled Greenville and added to North Carolina's grim domestic violence tally.
On Tuesday, Judge Marvin Blount III sentenced 32-year-old Kayshaun Williams to life in prison without the possibility of parole after Williams pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the deaths of 27-year-old Jasmine Cooper and their unborn daughter. The case dates back to July 2023, when police found Cooper unresponsive at a Greenville apartment.
Plea and sentence
The guilty plea and sentence were reported by WITN, which noted that Williams admitted to first-degree murder in the deaths of Cooper and the nearly full-term baby she was carrying. After his plea in Pitt County court, Judge Blount imposed a life-without-parole sentence.
How the case unfolded
Officers were called to an apartment on West Arlington Boulevard in early July 2023 after a report of an unresponsive woman. Cooper, who was about 38 weeks pregnant, was taken to ECU Health Medical Center, where she and her unborn baby later died, according to the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence's 2023 homicide list. The coalition's summary states that an autopsy found blunt force trauma to the head and strangulation.
Arrest and charges
Later that month, Williams was arrested after a brief standoff at a home in the 1100 block of Eaglechase Lane and was booked into the Pitt County Detention Center on murder charges, WITN reported. Prosecutors charged him in the deaths of both Cooper and the unborn child.
Broader context
The domestic violence coalition's 2023 tally lists 74 domestic homicides in North Carolina and notes several cases involving pregnant victims, underscoring what the group describes as a persistent pattern of intimate-partner violence across the state. Advocates say the numbers highlight the ongoing need for better prevention efforts, stronger reporting, and more resources for survivors.
