After shooting his pregnant girlfriend, who is also the mother of his children, in the head at close range while three children were present in the house, a 30-year-old man from Massachusetts will serve decades in prison.
For the horrifying attack on Amanda Holyoke, who miraculously survived but was left permanently blind, Shaun Holiday was sentenced by a superior court judge on Tuesday to 30 to 40 years in a state correctional facility, according to authorities.
Holiday received the sentence after a jury found him guilty of a number of felonies, including assault and battery with a deadly weapon, assault and assault in a dwelling, assault and home invasion, assault and battery on a pregnant person, and armed assault with intent to murder.
Holiday was specifically given two sentences, one of 25 to 30 years and the other of 5 to 10 years, to be served consecutively, that is, one after the other.
The attack happened on September 8, 2020, in the victim’s apartment on the third floor of a building in the 600 block of North Main Street, according to a news release from the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office. The house is located roughly 20 miles south of Boston.
The Brockton Police Department officers responded to a 911 call that afternoon about a female adult who had been shot in the head.
First responders found Holyoke, who was 27 weeks pregnant with Holiday’s child, just inside the building’s door when they arrived on the scene. The injury she sustained seemed to be a “single gunshot wound to the temple.”
When police initially got to the address, Holiday wasn’t there.
Holyoke was taken by emergency medical personnel to Good Samaritan Hospital for medical care. She received more specialized care at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston after being med-flighted there due to the severity of her injury.
A “blood trail up the stairs” led the responding police to Holyoke’s apartment.
They found three small children inside. One of the officers pointing out Holiday as the children were being led from the building was “sitting on the sidewalk being treated by emergency medical personnel for a gunshot wound to his left forearm.” Holiday was recognized by the child as their father.
“Through witness interviews, use of city camera video surveillance and location points from Holiday’s GPS monitoring bracelet, investigators were able to determine that Holiday arrived at the apartment earlier that day and then gained access to the apartment,” prosecutors stated. “Holiday approached the victim from behind, wrapped his left arm around her neck and shot her in the right temple with a .40 caliber firearm, with their three small children in the apartment. The bullet exited the victim’s left temple and lodged in the defendant’s forearm. The injury to the victim rendered her permanently blind.”
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According to authorities, Holiday left the scene on foot after the shooting but returned a short time later to discover police already present.
Holiday was found guilty on counts of unlawfully possessing a firearm while committing a felony, aggravated assault and battery, unlawfully possessing ammunition without a firearm identification card, recklessly endangering a child, and witness intimidation in addition to the previously mentioned charges.
Holiday is accused of repeatedly trying to stop Holyoke from testifying against him during his trial, which is the basis for the last charge.
Holiday will be on probation after his jail sentence and will not be allowed to speak to the victims in any way without the court’s express consent.
In addition, he will have to wear a GPS tracking device, have his mental health assessed, and adhere to any treatment recommendations that may be made.
