Donald Wooten (DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office).
A Georgia resident faces a lengthy prison term after attempting to murder his pregnant girlfriend by shooting her in the head, aiming to end the life of their unborn child. The woman survived the attack, though she emerged from a coma with no recollection of the incident, and an emergency C-section was performed to deliver the baby safely.
Donald Wooten, according to statements he made to detectives, did not wish for his girlfriend to give birth, as detailed in an arrest affidavit acquired by Law&Crime. Last week, the 27-year-old received a 60-year prison sentence following his conviction on charges including attempted murder, criminal attempt to commit feticide, and possession of a firearm during a felony.
The affidavit highlights Wooten’s intention to terminate the pregnancy by shooting his girlfriend in the head. Consequently, medical intervention was necessary to perform an emergency C-section, ensuring the child’s survival.
The DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office revealed that a jury found Wooten guilty of the attack, which occurred in March 2023. Prosecutors provided evidence showing how Wooten assaulted his girlfriend near a walking trail at Chapel Hill Park in Decatur.
According to the investigation, DeKalb County Police responded to a 911 call around 7 a.m. reporting an unresponsive woman near the trail. Emergency responders discovered the pregnant woman lying in a fetal position, conscious yet unable to communicate, with a head injury.
She was rushed to a nearby hospital, where it was confirmed that she had been shot in the head and was 22 weeks pregnant. Initially, detectives could not question the victim due to her condition, but her family indicated they believed Wooten was responsible for the crime.
Police interviewed Wooten and he “informed detectives that he initially did not want the victim to have the child and he was upset that the victim chose to go through with the pregnancy,” per the affidavit. Wooten provided detectives with an alibi, claiming he was with a person who later denied knowing him.
“When they spoke with him over the phone, he told officers he’d gone to a movie with the victim the night before she was found, then back to the apartment complex where they both lived,” the DA’s office explained. “After parting ways, he said he went to his secondary apartment in Atlanta.”
Prosecutors said a receipt found in the victim’s car and text messages corroborated the trip to the movies, but location records from Wooten’s cellphone and the victim’s phone did not match the story of traveling to Ellenwood.
“Two months after she was shot, police were able to interview the victim at the hospital,” the DA’s office said. “She recalled being at the park with the defendant late at night but did not remember being shot. The defendant was questioned again by police and reiterated the second version of his story. He was arrested without incident.”
In jail calls, Wooten allegedly asked a relative to wipe his cellphone remotely after police collected it as evidence. Police managed to extract data from it before the phone was wiped.
“Messages between defendant Wooten and the victim revealed they were arguing over the pregnancy and their future together,” the DA’s office recounted. “In the days following the shooting, he sent messages asking someone to retrieve a gun and bullets from his apartment, and reminding someone to tell police they’d been together the night of the incident.”
During Wooten’s trial, the victim testified that she recalled driving herself and Wooten to the movie, then back to their apartment complex. She said that Wooten suggested they go to Chapel Hill Park.
“The victim’s last memory is walking in the park with the defendant,” the DA’s office said.
Wooten was found guilty on April 20.
