FORT WORTH, Texas — A Mansfield man was sentenced to life in prison on Monday for murdering his girlfriend who was pregnant with twin boys back in 2020.
A Tarrant County jury found Maurice Kelso Smith, 32, guilty of capital murder for the death of Darionne Burley, the district attorney said in a news release. Smith received an automatic sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for the crime.
According to the charges and trial testimony, on June 29, 2020, Burley was shot in the back of the head an hour after Smith and Burley left a Fort Worth Waffle House.
The Tarrant County District Attorney's Office says Smith then drove to Mansfield where he robbed a woman at gunpoint of her vehicle. He left his car at the scene of the robbery, where police discovered Burley in a bloody crime scene. A short time later, police found Smith at his Mansfield home attempting to clean the stolen car and destroy evidence of the murder.
At his home, police recovered his bloody clothes and the murder weapon. They learned the gun had been illegally purchased the day before. Ballistic evidence matched the firearm to the shell casing in the car where Burley was found, according to the DA's office.
During the testimony, the jury heard evidence that Smith had assaulted Burley in early June and was using drugs heavily at this time.
“In June 2020, Darionne’s friends and family were concerned for her safety and it turns out their concerns were valid,” Assistant DA Kate Hinojosa argued, “because at the end of the month she would be dead at the hands of this Defendant.”
Shortly after Smith's arrest he was transported by Medstar to JPS for several hours with a suspected overdose, but the evidence showed he was faking his intoxication and memory lapse.
“After trying to pick his handcuff lock in the hospital and being sternly warned by police,” Assistant DA Allenna Bangs argued, “the reality set in for him that he had murdered his girlfriend and two babies and was going to be facing the ultimate consequence.”
The Burley family, in statements after the verdict, told Smith, “there are no winners here,” and shared what life could have been for Burley and their family without his actions.
If you or someone you know is in a domestic violence situation, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233. It's a 24/7 hotline with over 200 language interpreters.
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