Left: Kaylin Fiengo (Peoples Choice Mortuary). Right: Donovan L. Faison (Seminole County Jail).
In a harrowing case from Florida, a jury has recommended the death penalty for Donovan L. Faison, who brutally murdered his girlfriend after she refused to have an abortion. The prosecutors described the act as an “execution-style killing,” highlighting the cold and premeditated nature of the crime.
The 23-year-old Faison was convicted earlier this week of first-degree murder and the killing of an unborn child. On Thursday, the jury, in a near-unanimous decision of 11-1, endorsed the ultimate punishment for the crime committed against 18-year-old Kaylin Fiengo in 2022 in Sanford, a city situated roughly 25 miles north of Orlando. The details of the case were outlined by prosecutors in an official statement.
During the trial, prosecutors argued that the murder fulfilled several aggravating conditions necessary for imposing the death penalty. One such condition was that Faison carried out the murder of Fiengo while also taking the life of her unborn child, who was considered under the age of 12, thereby compounding the gravity of the crime.
“You may and should consider the cold, calculated, premeditated nature of this killing,” prosecutor Stewart Stone emphasized to the jury. “This was an execution-style killing.”
Adding to the emotional weight of the proceedings, Fiengo’s mother, Sarah Schweickert, delivered a poignant victim impact statement. She expressed the immeasurable sorrow experienced by her family, stating, “No words can capture the depth of pain that comes with losing your daughter to murder. Every day I wake up and face a world that no longer has her smile, her laughter, her hugs. The grief never leaves – it sits in my chest like a weight that will never go away.”
“No words can capture the depth of pain that comes with losing your daughter to murder,” she said. “Every day I wake up and face a world that no longer has her smile, her laughter, her hugs. The grief never leaves – it sits in my chest like a weight that will never go away.”
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.
A judge will seal Faison’s fate on Dec. 5.
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.
Faison later texted a buddy: “On my brothers grave, I’m gonna crop her out.” The text messages proved Faison’s intent, prosecutor Domenick Leo said in closing arguments on Monday.
“Phones are an extension of your mind and your body – it’s the reason we can give you clear, convincing evidence,” Leo told jurors. “He said he was going to do it, then he did it. The police got the right guy.”
As Law&Crime previously reported, Sanford police were patrolling on Nov. 11, 2022, and saw a vehicle backed into a parking spot at Coastline Park, cops said at the time. An officer found Fiengo in the driver’s seat of the car, dead from a gunshot wound. Police later confirmed Fiengo was pregnant and had just completed her first trimester.
During 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.
