Virginia man charged after allegedly killing pregnant wife in front of their young children

A Virginia man is facing aggravated murder charges after authorities say he killed his pregnant wife in front of their young children.

On the evening of February 5, 911 dispatchers in Portsmouth, Virginia received a call from a young boy who reported that his father had shot his mother. Investigators later found Shaquana Deborah Jordan on the front porch of her home with a gunshot wound to her arm and side; Jordan later died at the hospital.

Authorities say her children, ages two and seven, were inside the home at the time their father, Hasheed Mills, shot Jordon. Mills allegedly got in a car and sped off after shooting Jordan, leaving the young children to fend for themselves. He was later found and arrested and is currently being charged with aggravated murder of a pregnant woman, use of a firearm, abuse of a child causing serious injury, shooting in commission of a felony, and possession of a firearm by a felon. Jordan was reportedly five weeks pregnant at the time of her death.

According to police, Mills had a long history of domestic violence incidents against Jordan, and he had previously threatened to kill her. Jordan’s family told police she had just kicked Mills out of the home and was afraid he would come back and hurt her; police found a number of Mills’ personal items outside the home, indicating she may have been trying to get him to leave.

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Deborah Apperson, with H.E.R. Shelter, a local organization helping women, spoke to WTKR about the incident. “This is exactly where we don’t want people to end up,” she said. “The average person who is abused leaves their abuser seven times before they leave for good. So it is very common that they go back before making that decision to leave.”

Homicide is one of the leading causes of death for pregnant women, exceeding all the leading health-related causes of maternal mortality. Many of these incidents are domestic violence situations.

If you are a victim of domestic violence, visit thehotline.org or call 1-800-799-SAFE.