Donovan Faison Sentenced to Death for Killing Kaylin Fiengo

Donovan L. Faison received a death sentence on December 5, 2025, for the premeditated murder of his 18-year-old pregnant girlfriend, Kaylin Fiengo, whom he shot in the head at a Sanford, Florida, park after she refused to end her pregnancy. A Seminole County jury recommended death by an 11-1 vote, and Circuit Judge Donna Goerner imposed the sentence. The case is now on mandatory appeal before the Florida Supreme Court.

The Killing at Coastline Park

On the night of November 11, 2022, a Sanford police officer patrolling near Coastline Park found a running Nissan Versa backed into a parking spot with Fiengo dead in the driver’s seat from a gunshot wound to the head. Investigators recovered a bullet casing and an ultrasound image near her body.¹

Fiengo had gone to the park to meet Faison, then 21. The two were in a relationship, though Faison was also living with another woman who suspected him of cheating. When Fiengo told him she was pregnant and sent a photo of two positive tests, he accused her of lying and texted back a single word: “Abortion!!!”² Prosecutors said he felt pressured and angry. When Fiengo refused, Faison texted a friend: “On my brothers grave, I’m gonna crop her out.”¹ He then lured her to the park.

The Evidence That Convicted Him

Faison was arrested in 2023 and charged with two counts of first-degree premeditated murder, one for Fiengo and one for her unborn child. The state’s case, tried in October 2025 before Judge Goerner, leaned heavily on digital evidence pulled from both phones by the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office. Jurors saw his reaction to the pregnancy news, his demand for an abortion, and his threat to “crop her out.” A friend of Fiengo’s testified that Fiengo had said she was going to the park to meet Faison that night.² The bullet casing and ultrasound image at the scene tied the killing directly to the pregnancy dispute.

In closing, prosecutor Domenick Leo told the jury: “Phones are an extension of your mind and your body. It’s the reason we can give you clear, convincing evidence. He said he was going to do it, then he did it. The police got the right guy.”¹

On October 27, 2025, after roughly two hours of deliberation, the jury found Faison, then 23, guilty on all counts: first-degree murder with a firearm, killing an unborn child, and burglary for shooting into Fiengo’s vehicle.³

Why the Jury Recommended Death

The penalty phase began on October 29, 2025. Prosecutors argued two aggravating factors. Assistant State Attorney Stewart Stone described the shooting as an “execution-style killing” involving “detailed planning and deceit,” meeting Florida’s standard for a cold, calculated, and premeditated crime. The state also argued the killing of a child younger than 12 during another capital felony, pointing to the death of the unborn child.⁴

Fiengo’s mother, father, aunt, and grandmother testified about the impact of her death. Faison’s family also took the stand and asked the jury to spare his life.⁵ On October 30, the jury voted 11-1 in favor of death, well above the 8-4 minimum Florida law requires.

The Sentence

On December 5, 2025, Judge Goerner adopted the jury’s recommendation and imposed:

Death for first-degree murder.
Death for the killing of an unborn child.
Life in prison without parole for burglary of a vehicle with assault or battery.

The sentencing made Faison’s case one of the relatively few in recent years in which a Florida court imposed death under the state’s 8-4 threshold.⁶

The Appeal

Every Florida death sentence is subject to mandatory review by the Florida Supreme Court. Faison’s defense filed a Notice of Appeal on December 12, 2025, and the court docketed the case as SC2025-1989 three days later. The Public Defender of the Seventh Judicial Circuit was designated to handle the appeal on March 4, 2026. The appellant’s initial brief was due on or before June 11, 2026, and the court has warned that further extensions will be granted only for medical emergencies.⁷

The Law Behind the 11-1 Vote

Faison was sentenced under Florida’s 2023 death penalty statute, which Governor Ron DeSantis signed on April 20, 2023. The law lowered the threshold for a jury death recommendation from unanimous to at least 8-4.⁸ Florida and Alabama are the only two states that do not require unanimous jury recommendations for a death sentence. In December 2025, the Florida Supreme Court rejected constitutional challenges to the 8-4 system, though Justice Jorge Labarga wrote that Florida’s threshold is the lowest in the nation, calling the state an “absolute outlier.”⁹

1
Office of the State Attorney, 18th Judicial Circuit. Sanford Man Convicted of Murder for Shooting Girlfriend Who Refused Abortion
2
People. Florida Man Murdered Girlfriend When She Refused to Get Abortion
3
Fox 35 Orlando. Florida Man Found Guilty of Killing Pregnant Girlfriend in Sanford
4
Office of the State Attorney, 18th Judicial Circuit. Jury Recommends Death Penalty for Killer of Pregnant Girlfriend Who Refused Abortion
5
Click Orlando. Penalty Phase Begins for Seminole County Man Who Killed Pregnant Girlfriend Over Abortion Refusal
6
Office of the State Attorney, 18th Judicial Circuit. Judge Sentences Sanford Man to Death for Killing Pregnant Girlfriend Who Refused Abortion
7
Florida Supreme Court. Donovan L. Faison v. State of Florida, SC2025-1989
8
WUSF. Unanimous Juries Are No Longer Required for Florida Death Penalty Sentences
9
WLRN. Florida Supreme Court Rejects Challenges to Death Penalty Law