Murder of Antonio Santiago

On March 21, 2013, one-year-old Antonio Santiago was shot and killed in Brunswick, Georgia, during an attempted robbery. Antonio was in a stroller with his mother, Sherry West, as they returned home from the post office when they were confronted by two youths, 15-year-old Dominique Lang and 17-year-old De'Marquise Elkins. Elkins pointed a .22-caliber handgun at West and demanded money. When she said she had none, he fired, wounding West, then shot and killed Antonio. Bystanders and rescue workers attempted to help, but Antonio was pronounced dead at the scene.

Antonio was born on February 7, 2012, to Louis Santiago and Sherry West. He was the second son West lost to violence; her other son had been stabbed to death in New Jersey in 2008. Elkins had previously shot and wounded a pastor, Wilfredo Calix-Flores, during an attempted robbery on March 11, 2013, at the pastor's church in Brunswick.

Following an anonymous tip, Brunswick police located Lang on March 22, 2013; he cooperated and directed investigators to Elkins. West identified Elkins from a photo lineup on March 23. On March 25, Elkins's mother, Karimah Elkins, and his aunt, Katrina Elkins, led investigators to the location where the murder weapon had been discarded. A grand jury indicted Elkins on 11 counts, including malice murder, and Lang on seven counts, including felony murder. Karimah Elkins was indicted on charges of making false statements and evidence tampering, her sister Katrina Elkins on making false statements, and Elkins's sister Sabrina Elkins on evidence tampering.

De'Marquise Elkins and Karimah Elkins were tried together in Marietta, Georgia, in August 2013, with the trial relocated due to local publicity. The defense argued that Antonio's parents may have been involved and questioned the reliability of West's identification, while prosecutors presented testimony from West and Lang describing the shooting. On August 30, 2013, a jury convicted Elkins on all 11 counts, including malice murder and felony murder, as well as charges relating to the earlier assault on Calix-Flores. Karimah Elkins was convicted of tampering with evidence but acquitted of making false statements. Elkins, ineligible for the death penalty due to his age, was sentenced to life without parole plus 125 years. Karimah Elkins received 10 years in prison.

Lang pleaded guilty to attempted armed robbery and was sentenced to two years' incarceration (with credit for time served) plus eight years of probation. Sabrina Elkins pleaded guilty to evidence tampering and was sentenced to six months in a work camp and five years' probation. Katrina Elkins pleaded guilty to making a false statement and was sentenced to five years in prison.

Elkins appealed to the Supreme Court of Georgia, arguing constitutional violations and ineffective counsel. In 2019, the court upheld his convictions but found the trial court had erred in not holding a hearing on his ineffective-assistance claim regarding sentencing, ordering a review of whether his life-without-parole sentence was properly imposed. The case drew national and international media attention due to the victim's age.