MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Memphis man was charged with two counts of first-degree murder after a pregnant woman was found shot to death in Cordova.
Kevin McKinney was arrested Thursday after authorities say he was positively identified as the shooter by a witness.
On Aug. 20, officers responded to the Walgreens at 9028 Walnut Grove and found Keierra McNeil suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. She was pronounced dead on the scene.
Authorities said in their report that McNeil was six months pregnant. The baby did not survive.
According to investigators, McNeil went to the Walgreens to meet McKinney, the father of her child, to discuss co-parenting. McKinney was reportedly not happy about the pregnancy and had been pressuring the woman to have an abortion.
An eye witness said McKinney came out of the bushes near McNeil’s car and shot her several times before fleeing the scene in a white SUV.
McNeil’s family says the sting of this loss will last forever.
“He has broken my entire family’s heart,” a family member said in a phone interview with WREG. “The magnitude of hurt. I can’t even explain it.”
They call McNeil’s murder an act of pure evil.
“You are a coward. You are the scum of this earth. You are the worst person anybody could ever come into contact with,” a family member said.
Family members say she was so excited to be having her first child and looking forward to her baby shower next month.
“Two days after her death, his first set of library books arrived to the home and when we received them, it was just devastating,” a family member said.
And as the family now plans a funeral instead, they find some comfort in knowing the man responsible for their pain is finally behind bars after a week of being on the run.
“We have been a little relieved. We still know there’s a process that has to happen. It is our prayer justice is served for Keierra,” a family member said.
The family says they will gather at the Walgreens Friday night at 7 to honor McNeil and her son.
