In the winter of 2021, the life of a young woman who was eagerly awaiting the birth of her second child was tragically cut short in Jackson, Mississippi. Keyunta McWilliams, a 23-year-old female, was eight months pregnant when she was killed on the evening of December 15, 2021. She was a graduate of Ridgeland High School and had completed the Dental Assistant Program at Antoinelli College, working in her chosen field in Brandon, Mississippi. She was also a mother to a young son.
On that Wednesday night, at approximately 8:30 p.m., McWilliams was driving on Beasley Road when another vehicle began to follow her. Investigators report that the suspects, traveling in a silver BMW with a Texas license plate, had pursued her from a nearby gas station. The pursuit ended in a hail of gunfire, with McWilliams being shot multiple times. Both she and her unborn daughter, who she had named Kayloni, died at the scene.
The investigation moved swiftly, and within hours, authorities located the suspects' vehicle at a residence on Kenmore Drive. The Jackson Police Department arrested five individuals in connection with the fatal shooting. The suspects were identified as 17-year-old Joseph Brown, 22-year-old Marzavier Z. Harrington, Kenya Webster, Antonio Esco, and Gary Taylor. Police officials described Brown as a suspect in at least five other homicides that had occurred in Jackson that year.
All five suspects were charged with two counts of murder for the deaths of Keyunta McWilliams and her unborn child. They also faced charges of two counts of aggravated assault, one count of a drive-by shooting, and one count of shooting into an occupied vehicle. Following their initial court appearance, they were held without bond.
