PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A Philadelphia man who was found guilty of killing his child’s mother and grandmother nearly three years ago was sentenced Monday to at least 40 years in prison.
Byron McDonald, 30, was found guilty in October of two third-degree murder charges for the deaths of 25-year-old Morgan Braxton, the mother of his son, and 50-year-old Tamara Aikens, Braxton's mother.
Prosecutors say surveillance video and cellphone records linked McDonald to the murders.
They say video showed someone driving Braxton’s car down Bancroft Street on April 9, 2021, and shooting Aikens several times as she was outside her home.
Braxton was found dead inside her home a few days later — she was believed to be the first victim killed.
Cellphone activity tracked McDonald moving from Braxton’s to Aiken’s house, then to his mother’s place in West Philly, and eventually to a hotel near the airport, where McDonald, his mother, and son were found after an Amber Alert had been issued.
McDonald was sentenced to 40 to 80 years in prison after victim impact statements.
He was on probation for a 2012 murder and will now have a hearing in front of another judge for violation of his probation, which could land him decades more behind bars.