Family lawyer convicted of murdering client and her young daughter
A Chicago family lawyer accused of killing a client and her 10-month-old daughter was convicted of two counts of murder Tuesday night.
A jury deliberated only about four hours before finding Fredrick Goings guilty in the Cook County Circuit Court case, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Goings and his client, Nova Henry, 24, had been involved for about two years before she and Ava, her daughter with former Chicago Bulls basketball player Eddy Curry, were shot to death in their South Loop townhome in January 2009.
An order of protection that Henry previously had gotten against Goings in 2007, when she said he threatened her, had expired.
The defense told the jury there was no physical evidence tying Goings to the crime. But prosecutor Jim McKay contended that a “mountain of evidence became an avalanche.”
A bullet found in his vehicle after the crimes was linked to the murder weapon and the then-3-year-old surviving son of Henry and Curry told his grandmother, near the scene of the crime, that “Fredrick did it,” according to trial testimony.
The government said Goings murdered Henry and her daughter after she hired another lawyer and made plans to contest $24,000 in legal fees that he said she owed him.
Goings will be sentenced at a later date.
Additional coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Family lawyer at trial in ex-client’s murder; was $24K legal fees dispute a factor in slaying”
Southtown Star: “Lawyer guilty of killing Eddy Curry’s ex-girlfriend, child “
