GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan — The murder trial for a Wyoming man accused of shooting and killing a Grand Rapids mother of two in front of her children is underway Tuesday.
Keyante Newbern is charged with shooting and killing 23-year-old Mya Kelly the day after Christmas in her Grand Rapids home in 2022.
Omar Dannah, Kelly's boyfriend and the father of her two children, was home with her and the children when the shooting happened shortly before 10 p.m.
He testified in court there was a knock on the door and Kelly looked through the peephole. Shortly after, gunshots went off.
"When the shots went off, I grabbed my son and ran. I was kind of like, on the ground, rumbling. I grabbed my daughter down and as soon as I looked back up, that was, like, the second to last shot that had hit her. As soon as I looked back up, it hit her and she just fell," said Dannah.
A Grand Rapids detective previously gave testimony explaining how police saw the gun used in the crime in Newbern's hand during a music video shoot with a man named Isaiah Smith.
"I monitor jail phone calls as well as messages that are sent from jail tablets and found a communication between Mr. Smith and a female where she had mentioned that his rap video had been posted on Instagram," said Detective Sean Wolf with the GRPD Major Crimes Task Force. "Through an open media search, I was able to find the rap music video on Isaiah Nelson Smith's Instagram page."
Newbern is facing the following charges in Kelly's death:
- Homicide - Open Murder
- Carrying Concealed
- Firearm Possession by a Felon
- Felony Firearm
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