BR man indicted in shooting of wife, death of unborn child
A Baton Rouge man, 26, was indicted Thursday in the June shooting and wounding of his pregnant wife and killing of her unborn child.
An East Baton Rouge Parish grand jury charged Frank D. Atkins, 2025 Bay St., with second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder. The case was assigned to state District Judge Trudy White.
Kayla Atkins, 23, was shot June 19 outside the Bay Street home at 12:40 p.m., then drove a few blocks to Choctaw Drive and Scenic Highway and called authorities, police have said. She was taken to a hospital.
Kayla Atkins’ mother, Rosalyn Crump, has said her daughter was four months pregnant. The child, Charitee Shyne Atkins, died a day after the shooting, Crump said.
Crump has said her daughter had a rocky relationship with Atkins, from whom Kayla Atkins had recently separated.
Kayla Atkins had reported previous incidents of domestic violence.
According to court records, a temporary restraining order was issued June 18 that required Frank Atkins to stay away from his wife. Kayla Atkins said in the petition for the order that her husband tried to kill her June 17 and had been violent toward her on several previous occasions.
Frank Atkins was arrested June 17 and booked into Parish Prison on a count of domestic abuse battery. He was released the following day after posting bail of $7,500.
Kayla Atkins also filed a petition May 2 for a restraining order against her husband, saying he beat her, pulled a gun on her and told her he would kill her if she ever left him. A temporary restraining order was issued that day, but it was dismissed May 3 at the request of Kayla Atkins.
Under Louisiana law, Frank Atkins would be sentenced to life in prison if convicted of second-degree murder.