On a tragic day in June of 2020, the lives of 3-year-old Shaniya Miller Gilmore, a Black female, and her mother, Shiand Miller, were cut short in a devastating act of violence in Baltimore, Maryland. On June 19, police were called to the 200 block of Boswell Avenue where they discovered the mother and daughter inside a parked car. Both had been fatally shot.
Shiand Miller, who was 23 years old and eight months pregnant, was found in the driver's seat, while Shaniya was found lying on the center console, seemingly having tried to crawl from the back to her mother in her final moments.
The investigation quickly led authorities to 24-year-old Devon Sample, who was identified as the father of Miller's unborn child. Family members indicated that Miller and Sample had been having problems in their relationship. Evidence gathered by police, including latent prints and firearms evidence found in the victim's car, connected Sample to the crime scene. He was subsequently arrested and charged with numerous offenses, including two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Shiand Miller and Shaniya Gilmore, and a count of committing a crime of violence against a pregnant person for the death of the unborn child.
In August 2023, Devon Sample was convicted on all counts related to the triple murder. The prosecution presented evidence that showed he shot Shiand Miller three times and her daughter Shaniya twice. Following his conviction, a judge sentenced Sample to three consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, in addition to another 70 years of incarceration, ensuring that he would spend the remainder of his life in prison for the brutal killings.
