Left: Shawn Bolden Jr. (Chatham County Sheriff”s Office). Right: Deanna Ellison (Lakes Dunson Robertson Funeral Home).
A man from Georgia is now facing a life sentence after a jury swiftly reached a verdict in a mere 35 minutes, finding him guilty of shooting his former partner multiple times in front of their infant child, who was only five months old at the time.
Shawn Bolden Jr. was convicted on charges including malice and felony murder, aggravated assault, and using a firearm during a crime, as announced by the Chatham County District Attorney’s Office. The victim, 29-year-old Deanna Ellison, lost her life in the tragic 2021 incident.
According to prosecutors, Bolden discharged his 9mm revolver into Deanna’s body, reloaded, and continued firing at her after she was already deceased.
Their relationship had ended after Bolden allegedly slapped Ellison on Mother’s Day in 2020 because she invited her mother over for dinner. At that time, Ellison was about three months pregnant. Despite their split, they had agreed to co-parent their child after his birth.
Almost a year later, on May 6, 2021, neighbors alerted the Port Wentworth Police Department after they heard gunshots and saw a man fleeing from Ellison’s residence.
Emergency personnel had to force entry into the home, where they found a child crying inside.
“What they found was truly heartbreaking: Deanna’s lifeless body covered in blood and nearby the child thrown onto the bed nearly stuck in the headboard, crying and inconsolable,” prosecutors wrote.
Shortly thereafter, an anonymous person called 911 to say Bolden had admitted to shooting Ellison. Cops later spotted Bolden’s car about 100 miles away. After a high-speed chase across two counties, troopers with Georgia State Patrol took out his car and took him into custody.
Detectives stated Bolden “lied and tried to manipulate” the investigation while showing “no concern for the well-being of his son or Deanna.”
“It is cases like this one that has the Chatham County DA’s Office more focused than ever on victim’s rights,” District Attorney Shalena Cook Jones said in a statement. “Our commitment to rebuilding the Special Victims Unit bigger and stronger than ever, is a commitment of support to all victims and their families. We will continue to fight harder than ever to assure Deanna’s family and others their memories will remain in the forefront of our minds and hearts and that their deaths or circumstances will never be in vain.”
Bolden is slated to be sentenced on Jan. 9. The state will be asking a judge impose a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Ellison’s obituary said she had a “zest for life, a huge personality, a heart of gold and a mind of her very own.”
“She was an incredible person that always looked for the good in every experience and everyone she encountered. Her laugh was so big and bright, that anyone who heard it couldn’t help but feel a sense of joy. Her smile was warm, comforting, and sincere. Her voice was strong and encouraging, and her presence was absolutely felt,” the obituary said.
