An Ohio man who killed his pregnant ex-girlfriend and a 16-year-old boy out of jealousy that she might have been seeing another man will serve several decades in prison.
Nicole “Nico” Cunigan, 33, was found guilty on all 10 counts against him earlier this month. These counts included four counts of murder, two counts of felonious assault, and one count each of domestic violence, involuntary manslaughter, tampering with evidence, and unauthorized use of a vehicle in the deaths of Deante Johnson, 16, and Precious Taste, 32, their unborn child.
A Montgomery County judge sentenced him to life in prison with the possibility of parole on Friday.
The convicted man will first be eligible for release in 2063 after the court granted him credit for just over a year of pre-trial detention.
On May 22, 2024, at around six in the morning, Cunigan broke into Taste’s house on Shaftesbury Road in Dayton and started shooting. He killed Johnson, a family friend, and the mother of his unborn child.
Prosecutors claimed that Taste’s twins, who were three years old at the time, were inside the house when the shooting occurred but were unharmed.
In a press statement released Friday, Montgomery County Prosecuting Attorney Mat Heck Jr. stated that Precious Taste was between 14 and 15 weeks pregnant and that the autopsy found she had died from multiple gunshot wounds.
“Deante Johnson’s autopsy revealed that he was also shot multiple times before passing away. The defendant entered the house by pushing in a window, fired several shots, and then drove away in Ms. Taste’s car, according to additional investigation that included witness accounts and surveillance footage.
According to a courtroom report by Dayton-based CBS affiliate WHIO, Cunigan specifically shot Taste to death as she ran down the stairs and Johnson was discovered dead in a bed under some covers.
Before being caught in Cleveland, Cunigan was on the run for about two months and was searched by the US Marshals.
Prosecutors demonstrated during the combined bench and jury trial that Taste had been threatened by the now-condemned man in the days prior to the crime.
“There is a text message that reads, ‘I’m keeping tabs on everything you do. During closing arguments, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Anthony Schoen stated, “You had better not touch anyone else.”
Cunigan was ultimately portrayed as a compulsive, envious stalker. However, the defendant insisted on his innocence during an allocution.
Another WHIO courtroom report claims that Cunigan said, “God don’t put anybody through anything they can’t handle.” “I’m innocent.”
During the sentencing hearing, the family of the deceased mother also spoke.
“You weren’t good enough to leave after all of your tough talk. Taste’s brother, Carl Thomas, spoke directly to the murderer when he said, “After she asked you to leave her alone.” “I should have simply left. The number of fish in the sea has increased. You took your life, she took hers. You showed no concern for your children.
In addition, the distraught brother said, “You took a beautiful soul.”
