I'm somewhat surprised that both actually had jobs.
http://www.suntimes.com/photos/galleries/5088459-417/dart-i-hate-you-song-was-womans-cue-to-kill-pregnant-teen.htmlDart: ‘I Hate You’ song was woman’s cue to kill pregnant teen Shante Thomas hid in the trunk of her boyfriend’s car, waiting for the song that was his cue for her to come out and kill the teen who was about to deliver his baby.
When Deandre Minkens turned up the volume on “I Hate You,” by the Sick Puppies, Thomas emerged from the trunk with a cell phone charger cord and started strangling 18-year-old Rosemary Newman of Alsip.
But it would take an extended effort by Minkens and Thomas to finally kill Newman as they drove in Minkens’ car through the south suburbs.
Those chilling details emerged Friday morning, told by Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, after Judge Darron E. Bowden ordered Minkens, 20, of Calumet City, held without bail and Thomas, 19, of Dolton, held on $3 million bail in Newman’s murder.
Minkens and Thomas are charged with the first-degree murder of Rosemary Newman, who was nine months pregnant with a girl fathered by Minkens, authorities said.
They’re also charged with the intentional homicide of the unborn child.
“The motive is quite clear,” Dart said. “One defendant did not want to be a father.
“He was clear he didn’t want this baby.”
Minkens and Thomas, who had been dating for years, spent several weeks developing a plan to murder Newman, who claimed Minkens was the father of the unborn girl she planned to name Nevaeh, “Heaven” backwards, investigators said.
But Minkens did not want Newman to have the baby, Dart said.
On Saturday Minkens invited Newman to dinner at the Crestwood Applebee’s while Thomas hid in the trunk of his Saturn, waiting for them to come back, Dart said.
At some point during dinner, Newman called her mother to tell her she was at dinner with Minkens, Dart said.
After dinner the couple returned to the car, where Thomas was hiding behind some clothes in the trunk, waiting for her cue, Dart said.
When Minkens turned up the song, Thomas lunged with the cord, Minkens put Newman in a chokehold, and Thomas started beating Newman, Dart said.
Minkens continued driving the car until they reached a Cook County forest preserve near Calumet City. Newman was unconscious but still alive at that point, Dart said.
Minkens and Thomas continued hitting and choking her until she was dead, then dumped her body and went to a nightclub, Dart said.
By the time Newman’s mother reported her missing Sunday morning, her partially clothed body already had been found in the forest preserve by a man walking his dog.
In addition to the murder charges, Minkens is charged with obstruction for lying to police about being at the restaurant with Newman, prosecutors said.
Minkens and Thomas both work at a Wendy’s restaurant, according to their public defender. Neither spoke at Friday’s hearing, where they stood dressed in street clothes, Thomas in jeans adorned with butterflies.
She has no criminal record, but Minkens is on probation for a theft conviction stemming from a September robbery of a backpack from a 14-year-old boy.
He’s also on probation on a case out of Georgia, where he was convicted of cruelty to children.
