Jury deliberates for 15 minutes before finding man guilty in killing of Arlington woman, newborn

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After just 15 minutes of deliberation, a jury on Wednesday found George Prince Jr. guilty of two counts of first-degree murder in the 2019 death of Iyana McGraw and her child.

Prince was sentenced to life in prison without parole and he maintained his innocence before he was led away from the courtroom.

Prosecutors said Prince went to shoot up an apartment where Miles Hall was located in retaliation to Hall shooting up his home the same day in 2019.

Hall’s girlfriend, 19-year-old Iyana McGraw and her soon-to-be-born baby Milan, were also inside the apartment on Justina Road. They were killed by bullets fired into the apartment.

In court on Tuesday, crime scene detective Kenneth Bullard testified that there were multiple shell casings from the shooting, in front the apartment and near vehicles.

Prince’s defense attorney questioned if the shell casings were all from the same person or not, this question could shed doubt on whether Prince was a gunman or if his bullet actually led to the death of McGraw and her daughter.

Dr. Robert Buchsbaum, Forensic Pathologist for the Medical Examiner Office district four, testified that he did an autopsy of McGraw and her daughter confirming the mother had at least two gunshot wounds that led to her death.

McGraw planned to attend Spellman College after giving birth to her daughter. She was days away from giving birth when she was killed.

The baby girl was born but, unfortunately, died just a few months after the shooting.

A police report notes that Prince’s cellphone linked him to the location of the apartment at the same time of the shooting. It’s anticipated that the state will link Prince to the shooting as well, while the defense will have to prove that there is doubt that Prince was there.

During the investigation, a witness told police that Prince attempted to recruit him earlier in the day to help with the shooting. The witness said when he objected to participating, Prince said: “I don’t care, I kill women and children, too.”

Other witnesses were able to place Prince at the scene of the shooting and told investigators about his actions leading up to the murder.

Gerod Fields was also charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the death of McGraw. Fields has pleaded guilty to his role in the shooting and is scheduled to be sentenced next week. Investigators said he drove Prince to and from the scene and was also found with the murder weapon.

Hall was convicted of having a firearm as a convicted felon after detectives found guns and drugs inside his apartment where McGraw was killed.