'My daddy is gonna die': Woman who fatally stabbed boyfriend and asked his 9-year-old daughter to lie for her is headed to prison

Background: Jennifer Nicole Heathcoe (WALA). Inset: Taylor Rawlins (Radney Funeral Home).

A 34-year-old Alabama pistillate admitted to sidesplitting her fellow portion his kids were wrong their apartment, walking backmost her self-defense claim aft the transcript of an incriminating 911 telephone emerged.

Jennifer Nicole Heathcoe was sentenced to 20 years down bars aft she pleaded blameworthy to intentional murder Monday successful the decease of 33-year-old Taylor Rawlins. She was primitively facing a superior execution complaint and was acceptable to spell connected proceedings this week.

Heathcoe fatally stabbed Rawlins successful the thorax connected Aug. 22, 2024, astatine Charleston Apartments successful Mobile.

She initially pleaded not guilty, and her lawyer claimed aft her apprehension that the suspect was successful a "tumultuous" and "violent relationship," leaving her feeling she had nary prime but to support herself with a knife.

Her father, Donald Cain, besides said, "It was self-defense."

"Every clip I saw her for the past mates of times she was with him for astir a year, it's conscionable gone atrocious for her," helium said, section CBS affiliate WKRG reported.

But the self-defense claims unraveled.

Rawlins' 9-year-old daughter, successful a hopeless bid to prevention her father, called 911 from her country and initially identified Heathcoe, her stepmom, arsenic the 1 who stabbed him, according to telephone transcript details reported by section Fox affiliate WALA.

"My stepmom stabbed my dad," the miss reportedly said. "[P]lease travel quick! My daddy is gonna die."

Moments later, Heathcoe was heard connected the telephone coaching the miss to blasted the stabbing connected idiosyncratic different than her.

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District Attorney Keith Blackwood told WALA that Heathcoe appeared to beryllium "telling the kid that's calling to accidental that it wasn't her" successful bid to "minimize [Heathcoe's] engagement successful this execution case," perchance indicating "consciousness of guilt," not justified self-defense.

Heathcoe besides called 911 that nighttime and said that determination was a "dispute" anterior to the stabbing.

"Yes, determination was conscionable this uh, a quality and … I got you baby. I got you. Breathe for me," Heathcoe allegedly said arsenic Rawlins died, earlier suggesting idiosyncratic other stabbed him.

"They ran retired immediately," the suspect said.

An obituary for Rawlins said that helium had a "boundless emotion and devotion" for his 2 children, a "deep transportation to his mother," arsenic her lone child, and had a "vibrant personality, crisp humor, and lukewarm laughter [which] brought comfortableness and joyousness to everyone astir him."

"In grant of his memory, we promote others to prosecute successful conversations astir home unit awareness, knowing that each tiny enactment tin lend to a safer satellite for families and individuals alike," the obituary said.

Matt Naham contributed to this report

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