Florida man charged with double homicide in killing of girlfriend who refused abortion

By Tyler Arnold

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 31, 2023 / 10:43 am

Police in Sanford, Florida, charged a 21-year-old man with double homicide in the killing of his pregnant girlfriend and preborn child, an action police believe was motivated by her refusal to get an abortion.

Sanford police arrested the former boyfriend, Donovan Faison, on Tuesday, Aug. 29, for the November 2022 killing. He was charged with two counts of felony homicide: one for the death of his 19-year-old girlfriend, Kaylin Fiengo, and the other for the death of her preborn child, with whom she had been pregnant for about 12 weeks. 

According to police, Fiengo planned to meet with Faison on the night of the homicide at Coastline Park in Sanford. An officer patrolling the area found Fiengo dead in her vehicle in the parking lot. The police said she died from an apparent gunshot wound while sitting in the driver’s side of the vehicle. 

Investigators discovered that Fiengo and Faison had argued about her pregnancy in the weeks before the homicide and that Faison wanted Fiengo to have an abortion, but she refused to do so. The investigators believe her refusal to abort her child is the probable motive for the homicide. 

Police Chief Cecil Smith said in a statement that the arrest comes “after a long — almost 10 months — of an exhaustive investigation.”

“Our investigators have made sure every possible shred of evidence was processed and analyzed in order to bring Kaylin’s killer to justice,” Smith said. “This beautiful young woman and mother was taken from this world far too soon, and in a horrific way. We hope that today’s arrest brings the slightest amount of peace for Kaylin’s family and the young son she left behind. It doesn’t bring her back, but at least she will have the justice she deserves.”

According to Florida law, a person who unlawfully kills a pregnant woman and her preborn child will face charges in both deaths. If any person other than the mother unlawfully kills a preborn child by causing injury to the mother, the person will be charged with that death. 

Although the majority of states do not recognize the personhood of a preborn child in most aspects of law, there are 30 states in which homicide laws apply to killing a preborn child when causing injury to the mother in any stage of pregnancy. In another eight states, such laws apply after a certain period of pregnancy.

The Sanford Police Department is asking anyone with information related to this crime to contact the department or to contact Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS (8477) or through www.crimeline.org. Callers can remain anonymous and tips that help solve a homicide investigation are eligible for a cash reward of up to $5,000, according to the department.

Tyler Arnold is a staff reporter for Catholic News Agency, based in EWTN News’ Washington Bureau. He previously worked at The Center Square and has been published in a variety of outlets, including The Associated Press, National Review, The American Conservative, and The Federalist.