A Virginia man will never walk free again after confessing to killing his pregnant cousin and another woman when police nabbed him for carjacking.
A Prince William County Circuit Court Judge, Petula Metzler, handed 38-year-old Edward Jackson Bland two life sentences without the possibility of parole for the shooting death of Leann Harris, 34, and Asia Payne, 22. A jury found Bland guilty of aggravated murder of a pregnant victim to terminate her pregnancy, the aggravated murder of killing more than one person, second-degree murder, three counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and carjacking.
“We are grateful for the two life sentences imposed today by the Prince William County Circuit Court in the case of Edward Jackson Bland. The senseless, brutal and unprovoked killing of two women by Mr. Bland truly merited such a sentence. Gun violence, especially with multiple victims, will not be tolerated in our community, and we believe that permanently removing Mr. Bland from society because of his heinous crimes will make Prince William County a safer place,” stated Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney Amy Ashworth, according to Patch.
On April 2, 2024, Prince William County police officers responded to the scene of a carjacking when they got a call from Shenandoah County Sheriff’s Office that they found the stolen vehicle, and the driver confessed to killing two people at Westgate Apartments and Townhomes along the 8100 Block of Porter Ridge Lane in Manassas.
Upon their arrival, officers found the bodies of both Harris and Payne with a single gunshot wound to their heads. Later, investigators determined that Harris was Bland’s cousin, and she had been 4 months pregnant. During the investigation, the defendant claimed he killed his cousin to terminate her pregnancy. However, the motive for killing both women is still sketchy.
"I pray he never sees the light of day and may God have mercy on his soul," said Harris’ mother during the sentencing hearing, reported Yahoo! News.
Though Payne’s mother forgave the defendant for killing her daughter, Bland remained unremorseful and refused to make a statement to the family.
Metzler sentenced the defendant to an additional 74 years with 15 years suspended.
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