Woman’s young son was only witness to her shooting death, Virginia officials say
A child who tried to escape an escalating argument between his mom and her boyfriend became the sole witness in her shooting death, Virginia prosecutors said.
The boyfriend, 38-year-old Quinton Dwyan Wade, pleaded guilty April 29 to second-degree murder in the death of his girlfriend, who was also 38, the Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office said in a May 8 news release.
McClatchy News is not naming the woman to protect the identity of her son.
The argument began March 27, 2024, in the living room of a Norfolk apartment where kids, including the woman’s son, were playing video games, according to prosecutors.
The woman’s son left the living room and went into a bedroom so he wouldn’t have to hear the fight, prosecutors said. His mom soon followed and closed the door behind her.
But Wade kept arguing through the closed door, and when the woman opened the door again, he had a gun in his hands, prosecutors said.
She tried to reach for a gun she had hidden under the children’s beds but couldn’t find it, so she tried to speak with him to calm him down, prosecutors said.
Wade then fired a shot while the child was still in the room, hitting her in the abdomen, prosecutors said. Then, he drove away from the apartment in her car, the attorney’s office said.
She was taken to a hospital where she died, according to prosecutors.
A day later, Wade turned himself in, prosecutors said. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison with 10 years suspended on good behavior and adhering to five years of supervised probation.
“Wade has accepted responsibility for what he has done, and he will serve a substantial sentence in prison for taking the life of someone he claimed to love,” Commonwealth Attorney Ramin Fatehi said in the release.
In exchange for his guilty plea, a conviction for first-degree murder was not sought, according to prosecutors.
“I extend my condolences to (the woman’s) son and her family; but for Mr. Wade’s crime, she would be here today,” Fatehi said.
The woman was remembered as a “jewel from God” in an online obituary.
“Laughter was a signature clue that (she) was in a room. She would brighten your day with smiles and hugs as she greeted you,” according to the obituary.
