A former Dallas County Sheriff's Office employee who shot and killed his pregnant ex-girlfriend and their unborn child nearly seven years ago was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole on Monday.
According to the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office, a jury found 33-year-old Keith Haynes guilty of capital murder in the death of 25-year-old Kenishia Walker.
The fatal shooting happened on Friday, April 14, 2017, in the 2200 block of Ridge Run Road in Arlington.
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The district attorney's office said Haynes fatally shot Walker in her bed, and her 8-year-old son found her body.
Haynes was employed as a civilian worker at the Dallas County Sheriff's Office. According to records, he started working as a detention service officer in 2013 but had to resign after just one month due to a family emergency. He was re-hired by DCSO in September 2015 and voluntarily demoted to courtesy patrol in November. Courtesy patrol officers assist drivers on the highway when they experience car trouble, such as getting a flat tire or breaking down.
Walker was reportedly afraid that Haynes would kill her, and she sent screenshots of text conversations with Haynes to a friend that said: "If I ever come up dead, please show the police this and other screenshots."
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"This was Easter weekend," Allenna Bangs told the jury. "It is about Spring and new life. Kenishia had a new baby coming. And the Friday before Easter, just like the first Easter, Kenishia was betrayed. She had no idea when Mr. Haynes called, asking her to leave the door unlocked for him, that she was being set up."
"He was such a coward, killing her and his unborn baby," Bangs said. "Kenishia is important. The unborn baby's life was important. And they both mattered."
The DA said Walker was arrested at his apartment a few days after Walker's murder.
"This case is not a mystery," Sarah Sherman told the jury. "All the evidence has pointed to one person."
