Stone Mountain man, Diamonte Haithcoats, gets life sentences for murder of pregnant girlfriend, baby’s death

DECATUR, GA- DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announced a conviction by jury trial in the case of a Stone Mountain man accused of shooting and killing his pregnant girlfriend, which also resulted in the baby’s death four months later. 

Jurors found Diamonte Haithcoats, 24, guilty of Malice Murder, two counts of Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault – Family Violence, and Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony in connection with the shooting of Shaniyah Rodriguez, 20, on Feb. 2, 2023, and the death of her baby, Milliani Rodriguez.    

Immediately following the May 9 guilty verdicts, DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Yolanda Parker-Smith, who presided over the trial, sentenced Haithcoats to two Life Without the Possibility of Parole sentences, plus five years.  

According to the investigation, a resident at a condominium complex on Old Singleton Lane in unincorporated Clarkston heard gunshots and went outside to investigate.  He found the victim lying on the ground unresponsive with a gunshot wound to the head and called 911 to report the shooting at around 5:45 a.m.  Officers with the DeKalb County Police Department (DKPD) responded to the scene. 

Paramedics rushed Rodriguez to Grady Memorial Hospital where doctors performed an emergency caesarian to deliver her baby.  Shaniyah Rodriguez died two days after the shooting.  Her daughter, Milliani Rodriguez, died on June 19, 2023.

Investigators recovered seven rifle shell casings from the scene, the District Attorney’s Office stated.  

Shortly after the gunshots, the witness reported seeing a dark-colored SUV drive away from the area where Rodriguez was found.  Police reviewed Flock Safety cameras in the area that captured footage of what appeared to be a dark blue Hyundai Palisade leaving the complex at 5:46 a.m.

Days after the shooting, police found the Palisade and confirmed it had been stolen.  Data from Rodriguez’s phone showed it had paired through Bluetooth to a device labeled “Palisade” just minutes before the 911 call about the shooting.  Detectives turned the victim’s phone on near the recovered vehicle and it automatically connected to the vehicle’s Bluetooth. 

Phone data for Haithcoats showed his phone left the complex immediately after Rodriguez’s murder.

When interviewed by police, Haithcoats tried to downplay the extent of his relationship with Rodriguez and would not admit to living with her nor being the father of her child. 

Investigators learned that in the days before her death, Rodriguez confided in a friend that she and Haithcoats’s relationship had started to deteriorate and that she feared for her safety while in a relationship with him.  

The case, assigned to the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Unit, was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Paige Boorman, with assistance from Senior Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Tarver, District Attorney Investigator Andre Williams, and Victim Advocate Britney Winley.  DeKalb County Police Department Detective D.D. Evans led the initial investigation.