Left: Kaylin Fiengo (Peoples Choice Mortuary). Right: Donovan L. Faison (Seminole County Jail).
A jury in Florida faces the crucial decision of whether a man who killed his girlfriend for refusing an abortion should receive the death penalty or life imprisonment.
Donovan L. Faison, aged 23, was found guilty on Monday of first-degree murder and the death of an unborn child, following the 2022 murder of 18-year-old Kaylin Fiengo in Sanford, located roughly 25 miles from Orlando, according to prosecutors. The sentencing phase is set to commence on Wednesday, as outlined in a press release by the prosecution.
Faison reportedly became enraged after receiving a photo from Fiengo showing two positive pregnancy tests. He accused her of deceit and demanded “Abortion!!!” via text, prosecutors stated. The pressure of his situation stemmed from living with another woman who suspected him of infidelity.
Subsequently, Faison messaged a friend, swearing on his brother’s grave that he intended to “crop her out,” demonstrating his premeditated intent, as prosecutor Domenick Leo pointed out during closing arguments on Monday.
“Phones serve as extensions of our mind and body—providing clear, convincing evidence,” Leo articulated to the jury. “He declared his intentions, acted on them, and law enforcement apprehended the correct individual.”
According to previous reports by Law&Crime, Sanford police discovered Fiengo on November 11, 2022, when they noticed a vehicle parked at Coastline Park. Officers found her lifeless in the driver’s seat, killed by a gunshot wound. It was later confirmed that Fiengo was pregnant, having recently completed her first trimester, as stated in a police report.
During the course of the 10-month investigation, detectives learned Fiengo went to the park the night of her death to meet Faison, police said. The two had been having multiple arguments about the pregnancy. After Faison lured her there, he shot her dead.
Sanford Police Chief Cecil Smith described the investigation as “exhaustive.”
“Our investigators have made sure every possible shred of evidence was processed and analyzed in order to bring Kaylin’s killer to justice,” Smith said in a statement. “This beautiful, young woman and mother, was taken from this world far too soon, and in a horrific way.”
Faison was arrested in August 2023 and taken to jail without incident.
In addition to the unborn baby, Fiengo left behind a son who was just a year old at the time of her death. Her father told Orlando NBC affiliate WESH that she took her role as a mother very seriously.
“I feel devastated,” Ricky Fiengo said shortly after the shooting. “I mean in a way the baby is young so I guess it’s better that he’s not going to feel that pain. It’s just going to take a village; it’s going to take all of us to help and chip in to raise that child and let that child know how great his mother was.”
Fiengo’s mother also released a statement to the outlet, calling her “vivacious, loving, funny and caring.”
“She graduated high school early as a young mother, with her cap saying ‘mommy did it’,” the statement said. “She is a loss for many, but for her mom an empty hole in my heart that will never heal.”
Smith said the murder was senseless and the violence was infuriating.
“We hope that today’s arrest brings the slightest amount of peace for Kaylin’s family and the young son she left behind. It doesn’t bring her back, but at least she will have the justice she deserves,” he said.
