Teen charged with killing unborn child

Published 10:00 pm Friday, June 25, 2010

A 17-year-old faces Capital murder charges after he is said to have shot Thursday a woman who was three months pregnant, killing her unborn child.

Javontrez D. Boykin, of Troy, faces a Capital murder and an assault first-degree charge for allegedly shooting 28-year-old Jennifer Griffin at a residence on Rose Circle, said Troy Police Chief Anthony Everage.

Griffin, also of Troy, was inside a home on the 100 block of Rose Circle when officers say Boykin shot into the residence, striking the victim in her right thigh and lower stomach area around 6 p.m.

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Griffin suffered from at least two gunshot wounds in the incident.

She was transported to the Troy Regional Medical Center Emergency Room for treatment and later taken to Baptist South Hospital in Montgomery, where police spokesman Sgt. Benny Scarbrough said she remains at this time.

Her unborn child, however, died in the incident.

Scarbrough said the motive of the crime remains under investigation.

Boykin was officially arrested Friday, after officers obtained warrants for his arrest. He was taken into custody at the Troy Police Department and later transferred to the Pike County Jail. Because of the Capital murder charge, he is being held without bond.

There are several reasons a person can be charged with Capital murder. According to the Alabama Criminal Code of Law, the charge is imposed when someone kills a person under the age of 14 and also for shooting from outside into an occupied dwelling.

The criminal code considers a child still in the uterus as a human, and thus a victim in this case.