An Athens woman has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a pregnant woman

An Athens woman was sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison Friday in Clarke County Superior Court following her conviction for malice murder and feticide in the slaying of a pregnant bystander during gunfire that erupted at Clarke Garden Apartments.

A jury of 10 women and two men returned the guilty verdict Friday against Kiresa Shanice Cooper, 29, who was charged in the July 22, 2019, death of 24-year-old Auriel Callaway, who was shot with a 9mm bullet that pierced both lungs and her heart.

Such a wound would have caused Callaway’s death in minutes, along with her 4-month-old unborn child, according to Dr. Sazey Desamours, a Cobb County forensic pathologist who conducted the autopsy while she was with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab.

Cooper took the stand Thursday and repeatedly denied she was the person who shot Callaway.

Callaway’s aunt, mother and two sisters all urged the judge after the conviction to impose the maximum life without the possibility of parole for what the aunt, Capathyia Callaway, described as a “senseless crime.”

Chief Assistant District Attorney Mikaela Henderson told the judge the state was recommending a life sentence and defense attorney Arnold Ragas of Atlanta asked the judge to accept the state’s recommendation.

Superior Court Judge Patrick Haggard imposed the life sentence, which gives Cooper an opportunity for parole. He also imposed a consecutive life sentence for feticide, along with a 10-year consecutive sentence for two counts of possessing a firearm during the commission of a crime.

This case illustrates the tragedy of gun violence where a life is taken for no reason, the judge told the court.

“Nobody sitting here will get over this,” he told the families of the defendant and the victim, neither who had a criminal record.

Callaway’s mother, Lashunda Callaway, described her daughter, affectionately known as “Thumpa,” as a hardworking young woman who held down a full-time job while attending Athens Technical College. She was a cheerleader in high school and a devoted mother to her son, Mason, who was 3 when his mother was gunned down in his presence.

But defense witness Amy Martin told the Callaways that her family is sorry for what happened and that Cooper is remorseful.

“Everyone here is brokenhearted,” Martin said.

Callaway’s sister, Sandra Walker, said she will never forgive Cooper.

“I feel my sister’s presence in this room,” Walker said. “I want to tell her we love her so much.”

The trial ended with fervent final arguments from Ragas and Henderson, who was joined in the prosecution by Assistant District Attorney John Batchelor.

“This case isn’t about being reckless. It’s about intent,” Henderson said as she told the jury not to accept an involuntary manslaughter verdict as suggested by the defense.

“She aimed for the Oconee,” Ragas of Atlanta argued, supporting his client’s testimony that Cooper aimed high in the direction of the Oconee River when she fired her gun that evening.

Cooper continually denied being the person who shot Callaway, and as a result of her testimony, Ragus directed particular attention to the ballistics evidence presented by U.S. Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms forensics expert Major Wells.

Wells testified that the bullet extracted from Callaway’s body positively matched with the gun that belonged to Cooper. But Ragus introduced evidence from a federal government report that there is “grave doubt” in ballistics testing.

Henderson in turn argued that attacking the ballistics science is the “only chance they have.” She said only one Kel-Tec 9mm pistol was among those seized by police during the investigation at Clarke Garden and that gun belonged to Cooper.

Ragus also argued that Cooper legally carried the weapon for her safety, purchasing it after her brother was gunned down and killed.

During the trial, Henderson introduced autopsy photos of Callaway and one photo of the fetus, but Ragas objected to the fetus photo as “unfairly prejudicial.” At one point, Ragas, the father of two daughters, appeared to wipe tears from his eyes after viewing a photo of the fetus. The state later agreed not to submit that photo to the jury.

Testimony about that evening at the apartment complex off Barnett Shoals Road described a volatile situation that began with fights among some teen girls. A person made a cell phone video that captured one fight that Ragas described as showing the girls “dragging and kicking and punching.”

Cooper testified that during one of the fights, she observed “grown men” betting on fighters and encouraging the fight.

At one point, an Athens-Clarke police officer arrived on the scene and Cooper testified she “begged” the officer to stay at the complex. However, when he left, the same girls began shouting again and it escalated into another fight. This time shots were fired with police recovering more than 80 bullet casings, according to testimony.

Just prior to the gunfire, Rodney Rucker testified he was outside his apartment where he observed people watching the fight among the “little girls.”

After the gunfire began, Rucker described the resulting scene as “Armageddon.”

“I heard hundreds of shots,” he testified. “I’m 42 years old and I’ve never been that scared in my life.”

Amid the gunfire and commotion, Rucker said he heard “gut-wrenching screams.”

He and another man saw the fallen Callaway, and he said they placed her body on the back of Rucker’s pickup.

“Auriel was an innocent bystander … innocent 100 percent,” Rucker testified.

Another resident, Ivy Dunn, testified she observed Cooper go to the middle of the road and say “nobody is going to (expletive) with my family members. When I shoot I’m going to aim.”

“She sounded real angry — mad,” Dunn said.

Jocelyn Wheeler, an Athens businesswoman, testified she went to Clarke Garden that evening to meet with Callaway, who was purchasing a product for her upcoming baby shower.

Wheeler testified she heard a gunshot, then everything “went haywire.”

She could hear bullets near her and was grazed on the leg by a bullet.

“I took my weapon out and fired back,” she testified as in the dark she could see muzzle flashes across the complex.

After the shooting, testimony showed Cooper left Athens the next day.

Cooper testified she went to a friend’s house in Cobb County because she was scared and heard people were saying “I shot the young lady who died.”

Athens-Clarke police initiated an intensive investigation after the shooting, searching several homes of people suspected of shooting guns that night.

Police detective Scott Black testified he viewed photos of Cooper made three days before the shooting that showed her with red braids, something that he said became important because witnesses said the person shooting the gun had long red braids.

Black also testified as to text messages later recovered from Cooper’s cell phone. That night after the shooting, Cooper sent texts to persons including those saying: “I really think I’m going to jail,” “I need to get away,” “I need to be out of town by morning,” and “They looking for me.”

One person sent her a text asking, “Where you want to go,” and Cooper replied, “Atlanta.”