Man gets two life sentences for murder of Mississippi woman and preborn baby

A 26-year-old man has been found guilty for the 2021 murder of a pregnant woman and her preborn child. He has received two life sentences in prison.

Key Takeaways:

• Kenya Webster has been sentenced to life in prison for killing Kenyunta McWilliams and her preborn child in Jackson, Mississippi, in December 2021.

• Webster shot McWilliams while she was sitting in the passenger seat of a vehicle. The intended target of the shooting was her boyfriend.

• Mississippi law recognizes McWilliams' preborn baby as a victim, but not every state offer such protections.

The Details:

Kenyunta McWilliams, 23, was eight months pregnant and riding in the passenger seat of a car driven by her boyfriend, Knowledge Wigley, when Kenya Webster used an assault weapon to fire multiple rounds into the vehicle, killing McWilliams and her preborn child.

Prosecutors say Webster was targeting Wigley when he shot into the car, but killed McWilliams instead. He later confessed to the crime.

He was found guilty of two counts of murder, two counts of aggravated assault, one count of drive-by shooting and one count of shooting into a vehicle. He was sentenced to two mandatory life sentences without the possibility of parole for the murders, with an additional 55 years for the other crimes.

Zoom In:

Mississippi law rightly recognizes that McWilliams' preborn child was also a victim in this killing, charging Webster for the homicide of both her and her baby. But not every state will recognize the preborn child as a victim.

According to National Right to Life, as of January 2024, 39 states have enacted laws that recognize fetal victims of homicide in at least some cases. Some states have no recognition; one family in Connecticut was distressed that state law did not recognize the preborn child as a victim after their loved one was killed while she was pregnant.

The Bottom Line:

Homicide is a leading cause of death for pregnant women. As Live Action News reported at the time of Williams' death, she was one of two pregnant women killed in Jackson within the span of one month. Each such homicide is the tragic loss of two victims.