Man kills girlfriend while she was driving her children, then fails to save her when the car went into the water

Mandiko Kwadzo, 31, was convicted of the premeditated murder of 23-year-old Carliena Clayton

A California man has been found guilty of shooting his girlfriend as she drove her children and then leaving the children to die when the vehicle entered a river.

Mandiko Kwadzo, 31, was convicted of the premeditated murder of 23-year-old Carliena Clayton on Wednesday, July 24.

According to the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office, officers were called to a residence after shots were fired on July 27, 2020. A witness reported seeing Clayton and Kwadzo arguing in the driveway before both got into a car with the four children.

Later that night, a man at Cliff’s Marina in Sacramento County heard the sound of a gunshot, followed by a vehicle plunging into the Sacramento River.

The man told police he and his friend went to investigate the incident and saw that the vehicle was partially submerged in the river and that Kwadzo “was standing next to the car and did nothing to help,” prosecutors said.

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The two men pulled the children, aged between 2 and 6, out of the vehicle and brought them to safety. “The oldest 6-year-old child had already unbuckled all seat belts, but the youngest 2-year-old child was still sitting in the child seat,” said the public prosecutor.

California Highway Patrol officers arrived at the scene and found Clayton without a pulse. According to the district attorney’s office, she also had “profuse bleeding from the head.”

Prosecutors said police initially thought it was a car accident, but Clayton’s eldest child told them Kwadzo had shot his mother.

It was later discovered that Clayton had been shot twice in the head.

The weapon used in the murder was never found by the police.

Sentencing for Kwadzo, who faces a prison sentence of 53 years to life, is scheduled for September 6.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or visit thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in more than 170 languages.

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