Left: Kaylin Fiengo (Peoples Choice Mortuary). Right: Donovan L. Faison (Seminole County Jail).
A Florida judge has affirmed a jury’s recommendation, sentencing a man to death for the murder of his pregnant girlfriend, a crime prosecutors labeled as an “execution-style killing” over her refusal to have an abortion.
On Friday, Donovan L. Faison, aged 23, received the death sentence for the 2022 murder of 18-year-old Kaylin Fiengo in Sanford, located roughly 25 miles from Orlando, according to prosecutors. The jury had previously voted 11-1 in October to recommend capital punishment for Faison, who was convicted of first-degree murder and the death of the unborn child.
During the trial, prosecutors argued that several aggravating circumstances justified the death penalty, such as the murder of a child under 12 while perpetrating the capital offense of killing Fiengo.
“You should consider the cold, calculated, premeditated nature of this act,” prosecutor Stewart Stone urged the jury. “This was an execution-style killing.”
Before the judge delivered the sentence, Fiengo’s mother, Sarah Schweickert, shared a poignant victim impact statement.
“No words can describe the profound pain of losing your daughter to murder,” she expressed. “Each day I face a world devoid of her smile, her laughter, her hugs. The grief is ever-present, like a weight that never lifts.”
In the Sunshine State, jurors can recommend the death penalty by an 8-4 vote — the lowest threshold in the country. The Florida Legislature passed a bill changing the law after the jurors failed to unanimously agree to put Nikolas Cruz, the man who murdered 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, on death row.
Prosecutors said Faison “erupted” in anger when Fiengo sent him a photo of two positive pregnancy tests. The defendant accused her of lying before sending her a text that said “Abortion!!!,” prosecutors said. The dad-to-be “felt pressured” because he was living with another woman who suspected him of cheating.
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 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.
