A 44-year-old Baytown, Texas, man was sentenced to decades in prison for the 2016 killing of his ex-wife he had an “acrimonious relationship” with, officials said.
Last Tuesday, a Harris County jury gave Allen Dale Edwards a 46-year sentence for the death of Keyanna Cherrell Gardiner, with whom he shares two kids, according to Harris County district attorney Kim Ogg. Edwards’ trial lasted seven days. He is expected to serve at least half of his sentence to be considered for parole.
The former couple did not live together for years and went back and forth over custody, according to a statement from the district attorney’s office. On March 19, 2016, Gardiner and a female friend were driving in a white SUV around 3 a.m. and pulled over at Edwards’ residence. Gardiner was asleep at the time when the friend “threw an aerosol can to break” his window.
“He took matters into his own hands,” said Assistant District Attorney Ashlea Sheridan who prosecuted Edwards. “He admitted that he was chasing them down, and he should have just let law enforcement handle it.”
Edwards urged his mother to contact the police but decided to hop into his vehicle with his gun and go after the duo. During the chase on Highway 146, Edwards opened fire on the driver’s side of the SUV. Then he decided to abruptly stop in front of the women, causing them to crash into his car, Ogg said.
Edwards then exited his vehicle and started to shoot again, hitting Gardiner in the chest. She died on the scene. He also punched the female driver, who had to be hospitalized and receive surgery for her injuries. Edwards was taken into custody shortly after the shooting.
“Domestic violence can take a lot of different forms, but too often we see it escalate into murder,” Ogg said in the statement. “There is absolutely no reason this man’s ex-wife and the mother of his children should be dead.”
According to Fox News, he filed for an appeal of the conviction on Friday, Nov. 3. In the outlet’s reporting, they identify the female driver as Samone Massey, Gardiner’s partner. Per the report, Massey attributed her “wrong” actions to years of harassment from Edwards, such as consistent phone calls, including while she was at work.
“They have a right to appeal, there’s always appeals, but that doesn’t mean they’ll get out,” Massey told the outlet. “Keyanna can’t come back… the media and everyone else doesn’t know what we’ve dealt with from this guy… I feel like he needs to be locked up a little longer than that.”
Speaking to Fox News, Massey described Gardiner as a “wonderful, a smart, caring and loving person.”
She continued, “She just wanted to live her life outside of that situation. She just wanted to be able to live a normal life like everyone else. That’s what she was trying to do, get out of that.”
Police said a man, identified as 50-year-old Marco Peralta, also collided into the victim’s car during the incident, Fox News reported. However, while directing traffic, he was hit by another man, Anthony Anatra, who didn’t see him. Peralta died on impact, and Anatra was charged with a DWI. They both had no connection to Edwards, Gardiner, and Massey.
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