Man sentenced for shooting pregnant girlfriend in Decatur park

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - Donald Wooten was sentenced to 60 years in prison Wednesday after being convicted of trying to murder his pregnant girlfriend by shooting her in the head at a park in Decatur.

What we know:

A jury found Donald Wooten, 27, guilty Monday of criminal attempt to commit murder, criminal attempt to commit feticide and having a gun during a felony. 

DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Tangela Barrie sentenced him to 60 years in custody during a hearing Wednesday. The charges stem from a March 4, 2023, incident where Wooten shot his 25-year-old pregnant girlfriend.

What we don't know:

While the victim remembered being at the park with Wooten late at night, she told police she does not remember the exact moment of the shooting. 

The backstory:

DeKalb County police officers went to Chapel Hill Park in unincorporated Decatur around 7 a.m. after a 911 call reported an unresponsive woman. 

EMTs found the pregnant woman in the fetal position near a walking trail with a wound to the back of her head. She was placed in a medically induced coma at Grady Hospital, where doctors found a gunshot wound behind her left ear.

Her baby was born prematurely, but survived.

What they're saying:

The DeKalb County District Attorney's Office said Wooten gave police conflicting stories, first saying he went to a secondary apartment in Atlanta and later claiming he was at a friend's house in Ellenwood. 

Cellphone records did not match his story, and the friend he named denied knowing him. Prosecutors also found jail calls where Wooten asked a relative to wipe his phone, but police extracted data showing he and the victim were arguing about the pregnancy.

Dig deeper:

The victim eventually recovered enough to testify that Wooten suggested they go to the park after seeing a movie. Though the shooting left her in a coma, her child was born prematurely and survived the attack. The case was handled by the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Unit to secure the 60-year sentence.