Man sentenced to decades in prison for death of 19-year-old pregnant woman
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A man has pleaded guilty to his role in the death of a 19-year-old pregnant woman last year in southwest Columbus and will be sentenced to prison for decades.
Devon Blair, 24, pleaded guilty Monday in Franklin County common pleas court to two counts of both involuntary manslaughter and felonious assault and one to strangulation or suffocation in the deaths of Brooke Devinney and her unborn child, according to court records.
His pleading guilty to the involuntary manslaughter charges caused his murder charge to drop in exchange. He faces at least 46 years in prison and a maximum of 51 and a half years for the five charges.
On June 16, 2024 at 7:30 a.m., a text was received by 911 dispatchers about a domestic violence attack near the 4600 block of Parkwick Drive in the Riverbend area of Columbus. When officers got to the scene, they found Devinney in the home.
She was taken to the hospital in critical condition but was later pronounced dead at 8:45 a.m. Devinney’s unborn child was also pronounced dead four minutes later. She was 14 weeks into her pregnancy, according to a prosecuting attorney at Blair's arraignment last year.
Blair reportedly fled the scene and evaded capture, but was arrested near the intersection of Cottrell Drive and Cottrell Court in the Georgian Heights neighborhood.
Just four days prior to Devinney's death, Blair was arrested on charges of assault, aggravated menacing and two counts of domestic violence when police said Devinney approached an officer in the 4200 block of Climb Road. She told police she was assaulted in her vehicle by Blair on June 12, 2024 at a traffic signal on the I-270 exit ramp at Georgesville Road.
Blair pleaded guilty to one domestic violence charge and one assault charge on May 16, 2024, which he was sentenced to two years in prison for those charges on Monday.
If you or a loved one is experiencing domestic violence, visit LSS Choices or call 614-224-4663 (HOME), or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233, text BEGIN to 88788, or click here.