A man accused of killing a young mother and leaving her four children in peril in the Sacramento River was convicted by a jury this week of first-degree murder, prosecutors in Sacramento announced July 25.
Mandiko Kwadzo, 30, was found guilty of killing Carliena Clayton following a dispute in 2020.
West Sacramento police officers were dispatched to the scene of a residence following reports of shots fired. The victim, her children, and Mr. Kwadzo were not at the scene, having left in a car before police arrived, according to authorities.
Officers, however, found evidence of a shooting inside the home, prosecutors said.
The same night, a male witness said he heard a gunshot near Cliff’s Marina in Sacramento County, followed by the sound of a car crashing into the water, according to prosecutors.
The witness and a friend went to the crash scene. According to prosecutors and per the witnesses’ statement, the victim’s car was partially submerged in water, while her four children remained trapped in the backseat. The youngest child was 2 years old and stuck in a car seat.
The two witnesses said Mr. Kwadzo was standing nearby but failed to do anything to help the children. The witnesses were able to get the children out of the car to safety, according to prosecutors.
California Highway Patrol officers who responded to the scene found the victim, Ms. Clayton, unresponsive with no pulse and bleeding severely from her head.
The cause of Ms. Clayton’s death was believed to be a car accident until the oldest child, 6 years old, told officers that Mr. Kwadzo had shot his mother, according to the district attorney.
The suspect was taken into custody and booked into the Sacramento County jail without bail.
“It was later determined the victim suffered two gunshot wounds to her head,” the district attorney’s office stated.
The gun Mr. Kwadzo used has never been located.
Mr. Kwadzo was also convicted for the use of a firearm during the commission of a murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to the district attorney’s office, he is scheduled to appear again in court for sentencing Sept. 6. He faces 53 years to life in prison.
