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Background: News footage of the daycare center where Taco Nash followed Mic’Keya Montgomery before killing her (WXIA). Inset (left): Taco Nash (DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office). Inset (right): Mic’Keya Montgomery (Rucker Funeral Home).
A Georgia man who compelled his girlfriend into a forested area and fatally shot her while she was holding their baby has been found guilty by a jury and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Taco Nash, 22, was convicted of 13 felony charges related to the June 2022 murder of 21-year-old Mic’Keya Montgomery, the mother of his 16-month-old daughter. According to reporting from the courtroom by local ABC affiliate WSB, prosecutors indicated that Nash pursued Montgomery to a daycare center in Decatur, attempting to forcibly take her and the baby. He then abducted the mother and child, leading Montgomery at gunpoint into a nearby wooded area while she held the child, and shot her to death.
The child was not injured, and she appears to be living with Montgomery’s family.
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During the trial, DeKalb County Senior Assistant District Attorney Ashley Johnson showed the court video that showed Nash accosting Montgomery outside the day care center on June 15, 2022. As Montgomery waited for a ride-sharing vehicle with her little girl, Nash ran up to her, and she yelled at him to leave. The young mother ran back inside the day care out of fear.
Nash went inside the day care and started making violent threats, causing a rush of employees and parents trying to get the children inside to safety. Johnson told the court that Nash screamed, “I’m going to kill you. I’m going to kill that baby, and then I’m going to kill myself.”
One of the prosecution’s witnesses was the center’s office manager, who corroborated that version of events. She testified that Nash refused to leave Montgomery alone and terrorized her during the time he was inside the day care.
Nash’s history of abuse against Montgomery was also brought up in court, according to WSB’s reporting. At the time of her death, Montgomery had broken up with Nash because of the abuse she suffered at his hands. Johnson read a note written by Montgomery two weeks before her death that said, “I can’t stay any longer because if I do, you’ll kill me someday.”
Nash’s defense attorney, Arnold Ragas, attempted to convince the court that Montgomery shot herself, pointing to a note she had purportedly written that was found in her purse. Ragas also noted that the gun that killed Montgomery was found in her own hand, and Nash was recorded on video telling police, “She shot herself.”
The jury, however, was not convinced. After deliberating for four hours, they found Nash guilty on every count, including one count of malice murder, four counts of felony murder, two counts of kidnapping, aggravated assault, aggravated stalking, and cruelty to children.
Nash was given three life sentences without the possibility of parole plus 60 years. A permanent protective order was also imposed for Montgomery’s family.
