Boyfriend got into the car his girlfriend was driving before he shot her in the head, then didn’t do anything to help her four young children when the vehicle crashed into the rlver; convicted

Los Angeles, CA – According to the court documents, the 31-year-old boyfriend, later identified as Mandako, was found guilty of first-degree murder and other charged and is now facing 53 years to life in prison in connection with his girlfriend’s, 23-year-old CarIiena, death. Prosecutors say the defendant shot his partner in the head twice while she was driving the vehicle with her four children, ages 2 to 6, in the back. The defendant was in the passenger seat while committing the crime. 

The investigation process occurred four years ago after the 911 caller told the dispatcher about shots fired in the home. The responding officers arrived on scene and discovered that someone fired several shots inside the home. The responding officers then talked with a witness, who reportedly told them that the victim entered her vehicle with her children. The defendant then entered the passenger seat before the vehicle drove away.

The witness also told investigators that the defendant and his girlfriend were fighting before they left with the vehicle. Shortly after, a 911 caller told the dispatcher that someone fired shots in a vehicle and that vehicle crashed in the river. The responding officers discovered that two unidentified men saw the accident and jumped into water to save the passengers.

They reportedly rescued the four children and moved the woman’s body only for first responders to realize that she was shot in the head twice. The witnesses told investigators that the defendant ‘was standing nearby the car not doing anything to help’. The woman’s eldest child told investigators that their mom’s boyfriend reportedly shot the woman before the car crash. The 31-year-old defendant will be sentenced in September, court records say.