Fla. Mom Killed Her Baby in Exact Spot Where Husband Proposed to Her: 'Sorry for What I'm About to Do'
Maria Rodriguez-Barnes was sentenced to life in prison on June 5 after being convicted of killing her 5-month-old son in 2020
Okaloose Department of Corrections
Maria Rodriguez-BarnesA Florida mother will spend the rest of her life in prison after being convicted of killing her infant son at the same place where her husband had proposed to her, according to multiple news outlets.
On June 5, an Okaloosa County jury found Maria Rodriguez-Barnes, now 35, guilty of first-degree premeditated murder in the 2020 death of her son, the Sacramento Bee, Northwest Florida Daily News and WKRG report, citing prosecutors.
According to Rodriguez-Barnes’ arrest report, which was reviewed by PEOPLE, she drove her 5-month-old son, Jaxxon Gunner Rodriguez Barnes, to the parking lot of The Boardwalk in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., on March 25, 2020. There, police said she shot her son once in the chest and then shot herself in an attempt to die by suicide, though she survived.
During opening statements, Assistant State Attorney Michelle Sandler said that Rodriguez-Barnes planned to kill her son after she learned her husband intended to file for divorce, according to Northwest Florida Daily News. The prosecutor added that she specifically chose the location since her husband had proposed there.
The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release at the time that Jaxxon was discovered dead inside the back of his mother’s pickup truck by deputies when a crew of workers called authorities. They then discovered 5-month-old Jaxxon Rodriguez-Barnes in a seated position in the left rear floorboard of the truck, slumped over a pillow.
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Deputies recovered a 9mm handgun, shell casings and handwritten notes inside her car, per the sheriff’s office. The details of the notes were redacted in the arrest report.
According to the Sacramento Bee, Sandler said in court that prior to the murder, Rodriguez-Barnes told her husband, “I’m sorry for what I’m about to do.” She also reportedly contacted family members about her plan before the incident.
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