Georgia man gets two life sentences for killing pregnant woman

A Georgia man has been sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for killing a pregnant Ohio woman and her baby. He does have the possibility of parole.

Key Takeaways:

• Toldrick Griffin Jr. has been sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for killing Sha'Coria Hamilton and her preborn baby.

• He pleaded guilty to two counts of murder and one count of felonious assault in October.

• Allegedly, Sha'Coria had been contemplating having an abortion, and this was Griffin's motive for killing her.

• He will be eligible for parole after 36 years.

The Details:

Toldrick Griffin Jr., age 20, pleaded guilty to two counts of murder and one count of felonious assault in October in relation to the deaths of 20-year-old Sha'Coria Hamilton and her preborn baby.

According to police, on February 10, 2025, an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper found a vehicle on the side of the road. When the officer went to investigate, Griffin fled the scene. He was apprehended shortly after.

As police further investigated, they were led to a home in which Hamilton was found dead.

Judge Roger Binette said that Griffin traveled from Georgia to Ohio to kill or hurt her because he was upset that she was considering having an abortion. However, as Binette said, Griffin killed Hamilton, and therefore also killed the baby, because he was angry that she wanted to abort the baby.

“You didn’t want her to kill that child. And yet you’re the one that did. When you killed her, then you killed the child. So what you were trying to prevent, you did, because of your anger, your violence,” Binette told Griffin.

Griffin received two consecutive life sentences but will be eligible for parole after 36 years, when he is 56 years old.

Hamilton's mother, Marshander Hamilton, said at the hearing, "She was unique. She was a good girl. Sha'Coria wasn't a problem child. She was real quiet. She's someone's child. She was someone that was loved. And no child should lose their life because somebody has anger in them."

She and her family plan to hold a Stop the Violence event every year in honor of Sha'Coria.

Griffin told the court he is "truly sorry."

The Bottom Line:

Violence is violence, whether inside the womb or out. Binette made that clear in his words to Griffin, in which he referred to abortion as killing.

Ohio law states, "No person shall perform or induce an abortion without the informed consent of the pregnant woman." The state allows women to undergo abortions through 21 weeks and six days for any reason, and after that, if the mother's health or life is at risk. The state's law protecting preborn children from abortion after about six weeks has been enjoined due to the passage of Issue 1 in the state in 2023.

Despite the fact that it is legal for a woman to have an abortion without restriction through about 22 weeks, Ohio also has a law prohibiting the "[u]nlawful termination of another's pregnancy," meaning that if another person causes the death of a preborn child without the mother's consent, that person could be found guilty of murder in that child's death.

In an abortion-friendly world, if the mother kills a preborn child or pays an abortionist to do so, it's an act of 'bodily autonomy.' If someone else kills the preborn child, it's murder.

The truth is that every preborn child is a human being worthy of protection, and ending that child's life can never legitimately be anyone's "right."