An Ohio man will serve several decades in prison for murdering his pregnant ex-girlfriend and a 16-year-old boy because he was jealous that she was seeing another man.
Nicole “Nico” Cunigan, 33, was convicted earlier this month of all ten counts against him, including four counts of murder, two counts of felonious assault, and one count each of involuntary manslaughter, domestic violence, tampering with evidence, and unauthorized use of a vehicle in the deaths of Precious Taste, 32, their unborn child, and Deante Johnson, 16.
On Friday, a Montgomery County judge sentenced him to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
The court credited the convicted man with just over a year of pre-trial detention, which means he will be eligible for release in 2063.
On May 22, 2024, around 6:00 a.m., Cunigan broke into Taste’s home on Shaftesbury Road in Dayton and opened fire, killing the mother of his unborn child and Johnson, a family friend. Taste’s twins, who were then three years old, were also inside the house when the shooting occurred but were unharmed, according to prosecutors.
“The autopsy determined that Precious Taste had died from multiple gunshots, and she was approximately 14-15 weeks pregnant,” Montgomery County Prosecuting Attorney Mat Heck Jr. said in a press release issued Friday. “The autopsy of Deante Johnson revealed that he, too, died from multiple gunshots. Further investigation, including witness statements and surveillance video, revealed that the defendant entered the residence by pushing in a window, fired multiple shots, and fled in Ms. Taste’s vehicle.”
Cunigan shot Taste as she ran down the stairs, and Johnson was discovered dead in a bed under some covers, according to a courtroom report from Dayton-based CBS affiliate WHIO.
Cunigan was on the run for about two months and the subject of a Marshals search before being apprehended in Cleveland.
The now-condemned man threatened Taste in the days leading up to the crime, prosecutors revealed during the combined bench and jury trial.
“There’s a text message saying, ‘I’m watching your every move.'” “You better not touch anyone else,” Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Anthony Schoen said during closing arguments.
Finally, Cunigan was portrayed as an obsessive, jealous stalker. During the allocution, the defendant maintained his innocence.
“God doesn’t put anyone through anything they can’t handle,” Cunigan said, according to another WHIO courtroom report. “I’m innocent.”
During the sentencing hearing, the family of the deceased mother spoke as well.
“Despite all of your tough talk, you were not strong enough to walk away. “After she asked you to leave her alone,” Taste’s brother Carl Thomas said, addressing the killer directly. “Should have simply walked away. There are more fish in the sea. You ended both your and her lives. “You didn’t care about your children.”
The bereaved brother added, “You took a beautiful soul.”
