Georgia Man Gets 60 Years After Shooting Pregnant Girlfriend in the Head to Prevent the Birth of His Child.
A Georgia man will spend the next six decades behind bars after shooting his pregnant girlfriend in the head — not to kill her, but to kill their unborn child.
Donald Wooten, 27, was sentenced to 60 years in prison after a jury convicted him of attempted murder, criminal attempt to commit feticide, and firearm possession during a felony.
What Happened That Night
In March 2023, Wooten and his girlfriend went to Chapel Hill Park in Decatur, Georgia — late at night.
That was the last thing she remembers.
The next morning, around 7 a.m., officers responded to a 911 call. They found a visibly pregnant woman lying near a walking trail, unresponsive, with a gunshot wound to the back of her head. She was 22 weeks pregnant.
She was rushed to a hospital, where doctors performed an emergency C-section to save the baby.
Both mother and child survived.
“He Did Not Want the Victim to Have the Child”
When detectives questioned Wooten, he gave multiple conflicting stories about his whereabouts that night.
But his own words gave him away.
Court documents reveal Wooten told investigators he “did not want the victim to have the child” and was “upset that she chose to go through with the pregnancy.”
His phone told the rest of the story. Location data contradicted his alibi. Text messages showed the couple had been arguing about the pregnancy for days. And after police took his phone as evidence, Wooten allegedly called a relative from jail — asking them to remotely wipe it.
Police had already extracted the data.
She Testified Against Him
Two months after the shooting, the victim — still recovering — was finally well enough to speak with detectives.
She remembered going to a movie with Wooten that night. She remembered walking into the park with him.
After that? Nothing.
Despite having no memory of the attack, she took the stand during his trial and testified about that night.
On April 20, the jury found Wooten guilty on all counts.
60 Years
The DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office confirmed the sentence last week.
The baby Wooten tried to kill before birth? Alive.
The mother he shot in the head? Alive.
Donald Wooten? He’ll be in his 80s before he sees the outside of a prison again.
