A 30-year-old Massachusetts man will spend decades in prison after shooting his pregnant girlfriend — and the mother of his children — in the head at point-blank range while his three children were present. A superior court judge sentenced Shaun Holiday to 30 to 40 years in a state correctional facility on Tuesday for the horrific attack on Amanda Holyoke, who miraculously survived but was left permanently blind, according to authorities.
The sentence was imposed after a jury found Holiday guilty of several felonies, including armed assault in a dwelling, armed home invasion, assault and battery on a pregnant person, armed assault with intent to murder, and assault and battery with a deadly weapon.
Holiday was given a sentence of 25 to 30 years and an additional sentence of five to ten years, to be served consecutively, that is, one after the other.
According to a press release from the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office, the attack occurred on September 8, 2020, in the victim’s apartment on the third floor of a building in the 600 block of North Main Street. The residence is approximately 20 miles south of Boston.
That afternoon, Brockton Police Department officers responded to a 911 call reporting an adult female suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. First responders arrived at the scene and found Holyoke, who was 27 weeks pregnant with Holiday’s child, just inside the building’s door. She appeared to have received a “single gunshot wound to the temple.”
Holiday was not present when police first arrived at the address.
Holyoke was transported to Good Samaritan Hospital for treatment. Because of the severity of her injury, she was airlifted to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston for additional specialized care.
Police on the scene reported that they followed a “blood trail up the stairs” to Holyoke’s apartment. Inside, they found three young children. As the children were led out of the building by officers, one of them pointed out Holiday, who was “sitting on the sidewalk being treated by emergency medical personnel for a gunshot wound to his left forearm.” The child recognized Holiday as their father.
“Through witness interviews, use of city camera video surveillance and location points from Holiday’s GPS monitoring bracelet, investigators were able to determine that Holiday arrived at the apartment earlier that day and then gained access to the apartment,” according to the release from prosecutors. “Holiday approached the victim from behind, wrapped his left arm around her neck, and shot her in the right temple with a.40 caliber firearm while their three small children were inside the apartment.” The bullet passed through the victim’s left temple and lodged in the defendant’s forearm. “The victim’s injury left her permanently blind.”
Following the shooting, authorities said Holiday fled the scene on foot, only to return a short time later to find police already present.
District Attorney Tim Cruz previously referred to Holiday’s attack on Holyoke as “despicable” and “cowardly.”
In addition to the charges listed above, Holiday was found guilty of unlawful possession of a firearm while committing a felony, aggravated assault and battery, unlawful possession of ammunition without a firearm identification card, reckless endangerment of a child, and witness intimidation.
The final charge stems from Holiday’s alleged multiple attempts to prevent Holyoke from testifying against him at trial, according to Boston NBC affiliate WBTS.
Holiday will remain on probation after his incarceration and will be prohibited from having any contact with the victims unless the court explicitly authorizes it. He will also be required to wear a GPS tracking device, complete a mental health evaluation, and adhere to any subsequent treatment recommendations.
