In the cold winter of 1996, the life of 15-year-old Kyunia Taylor, a Black female from Saint Louis, Missouri, was tragically cut short in a brutal act of violence. On the morning of February 29th, the Beaumont High School freshman, who was six months pregnant, was riding a school bus for students with disabilities when the unthinkable happened. A man boarded the bus, shot the driver, and then fired multiple shots at Kyunia, ending her life.
The senseless act left the community in shock
and mourning. In the immediate aftermath, a glimmer of hope emerged as doctors performed an emergency Caesarean section on Kyunia, delivering her premature baby girl, Diamond. However, the infant, deprived of oxygen due to her mother's death, tragically passed away 23 days later. The investigation into the horrific crime soon unraveled a sinister plot.
Authorities discovered that Kyunia's 31-year-old teacher, Mark Boyd, was the father of her unborn child. Fearing the consequences of his relationship with the young student, particularly the possibility of the child being born with disabilities due to Kyunia's enrollment in special education courses, Boyd hired 23-year-old Malik Nettles to kill her. Boyd paid Nettles approximately $4,000 to carry out the murder.
The wheels of justice began to turn, and both men were apprehended for their roles in the heinous crime. Mark Boyd was arrested and charged with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of armed criminal action. He was subsequently found guilty and sentenced to at least 23 years in prison. Malik Nettles, the gunman, faced a separate trial. Although his first trial ended with a hung jury, he was convicted in the second and received six consecutive life sentences for his heartless actions.
