A 21-year-old woman who was four months pregnant was shot and killed in Hartford in April and police said her boyfriend is accused of hiring a hitman to kill her.
Authorities said Carlton "CJ" Bryan, 21, of Windsor, hired a hitman to kill his girlfriend, Shamari Jenkins. On Friday, the prosecutor said they believe it was over Jenkin's decision not to have an abortion.
Jenkins was shot in the back of the shoulder when she pulled over her Honda sedan at Magnolia and Mather streets on April 29.
The bullet traveled through her torso, said police. She was rushed to St. Francis Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Bryan was a passenger in the car at the time of the shooting and was not hurt in the shooting.
After investigating, police said they believed he was involved in planning Jenkin's murder.
"Any type of situation where a pregnant woman is killed, often the boyfriend or father becomes someone you would take a minimum look at," said Lt. Foley of the Hartford Major Crimes Division.
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Bryan was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit murder, carrying a pistol without a permit, and making a false statement in the second-degree. Bond for him has been set at $2.5 million.
"It was hard because he told us he didn't do it, he showed up at the funeral and he showed up at the vigil," Shakaria Matthews, the victim's cousin, said.
On Thursday, police charged Matthew Allen Hall-Davis, 28, of Vernon in connection to Jenkin's murder. Police said Hall-Davis used Bryan's gun to kill Jenkins.
"We have information we believe that he owned the gun and made it operable and that gun was used to murder Shamari Jenkins," said Lt. Foley.
Police said Hall-Davis is currently in jail for a robbery that occurred in Manchester on May 23.
Hall-Davis is also charged with conspiracy to commit murder, carrying a pistol without a permit, and criminal possession of a pistol.
He is being held on a $1.5 million bond.
