A 50-year-old Tennessee man, Gabriel Fitzgeral Boykins, will potentially spend the rest of his life behind bars for the brutal 2020 murder of his ex-girlfriend and her 8-year-old daughter. Boykins crushed the girl’s skull so hard that it was found “in pieces.”
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As reported by the Chattanooga Times Free Press, Boykins was sentenced to 45 years in prison on Thursday, September 18. He received 20 years for murdering Tamara Church, 40, and 25 years for murdering Aquarious Church, 8. He will serve the terms consecutively.
Boykins was found guilty in June of two counts of second-degree murder.
“Is there any greater cruelty than a child watching her mother be hurt or a mother watching her child be hurt?” Judge Amanda Dunn said in court. “One of them watched the other die.”
Reported Missing, Found Dead
The family of the victims reported them missing back on May 19, 2020. According to the outlet, Church’s 2004 Honda Odyssey was found burning on Lynnbrook Avenue, one day before their disappearance.
As reported by Chattanoogan.com, Church had purchased the vehicle on May 15, and her last phone activity was registered on May 17. Her last location registered by her phone led authorities to Greenwood Road. There, in late July, 51 days after going missing, Church and her daughter Aquarious were found dead.
According to authorities, cited by Judge Dunn, Church had been strangled to death, sustaining blunt force trauma to the face. Her 8-year-old daughter suffered from a brutal beating, as if someone had deliberately stomped on her skull.
“The back of her skull was in pieces,” the judge said.
Boykins Located
Gabriel Fitzgeral Boykins was located by police on July 9, and he was with Church’s other daughter. The girl told police that she had last seen her mother and sister on May 17. Meanwhile, Boykins gave conflicting information to the police.
Video surveillance footage obtained by the authorities would later show a man leaving the scene where the burning vehicle was found. That man’s build and hair were similar to Boykins’.
Authorities later learned that Boykins had an alleged history of domestic violence. Horrifyingly, Aquarious Church was brought to a hospital by her mother for a rape examination on February 27, 2016, as per Chattanoogan.com. A few days later, the child returned to the hospital.
The child later said she had been sexually assaulted, accusing Boykins of the heinous act.
The police later found a large pool of blood that had been cleaned up at Boykins’ apartment. He was arrested in late July for his murders.
If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, you can reach the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233. You can also chat with a representative at thehotline.org​ or by texting “START” to 88788.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.