Mia Holmes was a 17-year-old who was full of life and always positive. The middle of seven children, she was looking forward to the birth of her own daughter, who was due in December 2020. She had recently started a new job and received her first paycheck. Mia, a Black/African American female, lived with her boyfriend, Donault Logan, in a room at the WoodSpring Suites, an extended-stay hotel in Ankeny, Iowa.
On the evening of August 3, 2020, that future was cut short.
Just before 11 p.m., police responded to multiple 911 calls about a shooting at the hotel. In a second-floor room, they found Mia suffering from a single gunshot wound to her chest. Responding officers attempted lifesaving measures before she was rushed to a local hospital, but neither Mia nor her unborn baby survived.
Mia’s mother, who lived one floor above the couple, later recalled hearing a terrifying scream as Logan called out her name. She ran to their room to find people performing CPR on her daughter. Even in her grief, she told reporters she believed the shooting was an accident, stating, "That boy loves my daughter. They were so happy together."
The investigation immediately focused on Mia's 18-year-old boyfriend, Donault Logan, who was the father of her child. Ankeny police initially sought him as a material witness, and he turned himself in to authorities the next day. According to a search warrant, Logan was in the process of selling marijuana in their hotel room when he accidentally fired a handgun, striking Mia.
Logan was arrested and ultimately faced charges including involuntary manslaughter. In May 2021, Logan, then 19, accepted a plea deal and pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and possession with intent to deliver. On June 18, 2021, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison, receiving a five-year sentence for each count. The sentencing marked the conclusion of the case as of June 2021.
