A mother killed her little son exactly where her husband proposed to her

According to multiple news outlets, a Florida mother will spend the rest of her life in prison after she was convicted of killing her baby son in the same place where her husband proposed to her.

On June 5, an Okaloosa County jury found 35-year-old Maria Rodriguez-Barnes guilty of premeditated first-degree murder in the 2020 death of her son. Sacramento Bee, Daily news from Northwest Florida and a report by WKRG, citing prosecutors.

According to Rodriguez-Barnes’ arrest report, which was reviewed by PEOPLE, on March 25, 2020, she dropped off her 5-month-old son, Jaxxon Gunner Rodriguez Barnes, at The Boardwalk parking lot in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. There, police said she shot her son once in the chest and then shot herself in an attempt to commit suicide, although she survived.

During opening statements, Assistant State’s Attorney Michelle Sandler said Rodriguez-Barnes planned to kill her son after learning her husband intended to file for divorce. Daily news from Northwest Florida. The prosecutor added that she chose this place especially because her husband proposed to her.

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release at the time that Jaxxon was found dead in the back of his mother’s pickup truck by deputies when a crew of workers called authorities. They then discovered that 5-month-old Jaxxon Rodriguez-Barnes was sitting in a sitting position on the left rear floor of the truck, draped over a cushion.

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According to the sheriff’s office, deputies found a 9 mm handgun, shell casings and handwritten notes in her car. Details of the notes have been redacted in the arrest report.

According to Sacramento BeeSandler testified in court that before the murder, Rodriguez-Barnes told her husband, “I’m sorry for what I’m about to do.” According to reports, even before the incident, she had contacted her family members about her plan.