Dontae Jermaine Maddox shot a woman, killing her unborn child, officers said. (Mugshot: Palm Beach County Jail)
A man shot a pregnant woman, killing her unborn child, because he wanted to “teach her a lesson,” according to cops in Boynton Beach, Florida.
“I didn’t want to kill her,” Dontae Jermaine Maddox, 34, allegedly said. “I just wanted to show her what’s up.”
Authorities said it happened hours after he had attacked her by punching her and then, when she was on the ground, kneeing her in the mouth.
He remains held without bond at the Main Detention Center in Palm Beach County for a count each of attempted first-degree murder with a firearm (domestic) and felon in possession of a firearm.
According to a partially redacted arrest affidavit, Maddox ambushed the woman at her hotel room in the Inn at Boynton Beach the morning of Aug. 3. Documents show officers arrested him at 7:40 a.m.
Speaking to police after being Mirandized, he allegedly admitted he knew that she walked an autistic child to the bus every morning. He waited outside her room for her to step out, and he confronted her in front of the child, he allegedly said.
“Maddox stated that he wanted to teach her a lesson and shot her twice,” police said.
She ran down the stairwell. He chased and shot her a third time, according to the alleged confession.
Maddox said he removed his clothes so cops knew he was unarmed, officers wrote.
His alleged motive — They had been arguing for the prior several weeks.
Police said he had been at the hotel just hours before. On the night of Aug. 2, he allegedly attacked the pregnant woman by grabbing her, punching her multiple times, and then kneeing her on the face when she was in a fetal position. Her injuries included bleeding, swelling, a small laceration on her lower lip, and “redness/scratches” on her right arm.
According to officers, she did not call in this initial attack, but Maddox later returned for another altercation. The woman called officers this time. Police said they responded on Aug. 13 at 12:26 a.m., but the defendant fled by then. She said he had keyed the door and fled after she told him she was calling officers.
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The charge, in this case, is aggravated battery of a pregnant victim.
A July 22 case for criminal mischief shows that he previously showed up there, trying to enter room 405 and striking the door with a hammer, according to documents. He allegedly claimed one of the occupants of the room owed his friend money.
Officers found the woman when they arrived at the scene of the shooting. They said she suffered gunshot wounds to her back, shoulder, and thigh.
She said she was seven months pregnant.
First responders took her to the Delray Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. She survived in stable but serious condition. Her unborn child, who suffered a gunshot wound, died.
Police, witness statements, and surveillance footage indicate that after the shooting, Maddox made his way to the hotel lobby, removed his clothes, and lay down on the ground before cops arrived. He allegedly told cops he took off the clothes to show officers he was unarmed.
During his arrest, he allegedly said:
- “Maddox then put the firearm down and stated he should kill himself,” officers wrote from the hotel manager’s point of view.
- “While being detained, Maddox spontaneously stated that he should have killed himself and he ‘f–ked’ his life up,” police wrote from their point of view.
- “I didn’t want to kill her,” he allegedly said. “I just gave her what she deserved.”
- “She lucky I didn’t kill her ass,” he allegedly said while sitting in the patrol vehicle.
Maddox’s attorney did not immediately respond to a Law&Crime request for comment.
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