Dayton, Ohio – A jury in Ohio has convicted 33-year-old Nicole “Nico” Cunigan of murdering his pregnant ex-girlfriend and a teenage boy in what prosecutors described as a violent act of jealousy.
Cunigan was found guilty on 10 charges, including multiple counts of murder and felonious assault, for the deaths of 32-year-old Precious Taste, her unborn child, and 16-year-old Deante Johnson.
The fatal shooting occurred around 6 a.m. on May 22, 2024, when Cunigan forced his way into Taste’s Dayton home while her children were inside. Prosecutors say he opened fire, killing Taste as she ran down the stairs. Johnson, a family friend, was discovered under bed covers, fatally shot.
According to WHIO’s courtroom coverage, an adult and Taste’s 4-year-old twins were present but escaped physical harm.
Following the killings, Cunigan fled the area, sparking a manhunt that ended with his arrest nearly two months later in Cleveland.
Prosecutors revealed that Taste, who was about four months pregnant, had ended her relationship with Cunigan, but he became increasingly obsessive and threatening afterward.
“There’s a text message, ‘I’m watching your every movement. You better not touch anyone else,'” Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Anthony Schoen told jurors during closing arguments, quoting one of Cunigan’s messages to the victim.
Johnson’s family expressed heartbreak, emphasizing that the teenager had no involvement in the dispute.
“Why go after a 16-year-old that you didn’t even know?” Johnson’s mother, Jennifer Louis, told WHIO in an emotional interview shortly after the shooting. “… People will never be the same anymore, we won’t. We can try to make it better, but we will never be the same.”
Taste’s mother was in tears after the verdict. While she expressed relief at the conviction, she acknowledged that it cannot undo the pain of losing her daughter. “The kids still don’t have a mother so it’s been very rough,” she said.
Cunigan is scheduled to be sentenced on August 29.
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