Tarrant jury finds man guilty of capital murder in deaths of girlfriend, unborn twins
When her body was moved from the Honda Civic’s passenger seat, the lead core of the bullet that killed Darionne Burley fell to the floorboard.
Blood saturated the pregnant woman’s thick hair.
Blood splashed the front passenger side window and a sun visor. It soaked down to the floor.
Burley wore maternity shorts with an elastic band to make room for the babies growing inside her uterus.
When she was shot to death, the twin boys, at a gestational age of about 24 weeks, died too.
A jury in the Criminal District Court No. 4 in Tarrant County on Monday found Maurice Smith guilty of capital murder in the deaths of Burley, who was his girlfriend, and their unborn twins, Twin A and Twin B. He was automatically sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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Smith left Burley in the car and carjacked a woman in a sport utility vehicle on June 29, 2020, in the 1600 block of N. U.S. 287 Frontage Road in Mansfield.
Burley, who was 26, and Smith, then 28, had been involved in an intermittent relationship since high school.
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