American Monster is examining the murder of Alessia Mesquita, a mother of two children who was shot by her boyfriend, Rashod Newton, in New Haven, Connecticut.
On March 22, 2021, Mesquita and Newton began arguing while driving. The car was stopped, and Mesquita got out; she was standing beside the vehicle when Newton shot her four times.
The 30-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene. (Some media outlets have reported her age as 28, but the Connecticut State Division of Criminal Justice described her as 30).
The couple’s one-year-old daughter was sitting on the back seat and saw her mother’s murder.
Newton fled the scene with the toddler. Thankfully, the police spotted the car about a mile away, and the killer was arrested without incident. The child was uninjured but was taken to a hospital as a precaution. Newton told the police he “snapped.”
He was charged with murder, risk of injury to a child, and criminal possession of a firearm.
Alessia Mesquita suffered prolonged abuse by killer Rashod Newton
The police learned that Mesquita had suffered a long-term abusive relationship. Newton had abused the mother of his child financially, emotionally, and physically.
Watch the Latest on our YouTube ChannelMesquita’s family and friends accused Newton of killing his victim a long time before he actually pulled the trigger and that he had gradually pulled her away from those she loved. The family said Mesquita had only tried to help Newton with his drug problem.
Mesquita’s mother, Sandy Mesquita, said of her daughter, “She was a beautiful baby who grew up to be a beautiful woman. She had a good heart and always had a positive attitude.”
Newton eventually pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, and Superior Court Judge Gerald Harmon sentenced him to 35 years.
The judge called the case “one of the most heinous and horrible cases that I have had come before me.”
Newton is currently incarcerated at the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield, CT. He has a tentative release date in March 2056.
Alessia Mesquita killing by Rashod Newton was part of an upward trend in domestic violence
Mesquita’s family and friends have spoken publicly about her tragic murder in the hope that it will raise awareness of domestic abuse and may help someone avoid getting into the same situation.
The murder was part of a rising trend of violence against women during the Covid pandemic.
American Monster airs Sundays at 9/8c on Investigation Discovery.