Joi Nicole Spencer, a 36-year-old woman from Saint Petersburg, Florida, was shot in the chest and killed at her home on Trout Drive Southeast in the Coquina Key neighborhood on the morning of May 24, 2019. She was seven months pregnant; doctors delivered her baby boy after the shooting, and the infant was reported in critical condition with no brain function. Joi’s husband, Kamion Kemarley Spencer, called 911 to report the shooting.

Police recovered a handgun at the scene and said Kamion did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. He was arrested and charged with manslaughter; the arrest affidavit described the shooting as without intent to murder. Authorities considered him a possible flight risk because of ties outside the country, set bond at $750,000, and ordered that he have no contact with the baby if released on bond.

The case is a tragic instance of domestic violence that left a family grieving.