A 26-year-old Alabama man was sentenced last week to 198 years in prison for killing his pregnant wife and their unborn baby after the woman confronted him about allegedly cheating on her.
Hunter James Tatum was convicted of two counts of murder as part of a plea deal, with each count carrying a 99-year sentence to run consecutively, District Attorney C.J. Robinson said in a June 21 statement.
Hunter had been indicted on capital murder charges in the 2021 shooting deaths of his pregnant wife, 26-year-old Summer Tatum, and the couple’s unborn baby. Prosecutors were reportedly seeking the death penalty.
“Ninety-nine year sentences back-to-back accomplishes the same thing as life without, in my view,” Robinson said. “And for the family, there is finality. There will be no appeals that would come with a death sentence.”
On October 21, 2021, Hunter fatally shot Summer, who was five months pregnant, in a fit of rage after she learned he was allegedly having an online affair with a woman in England.
Summer was shot twice in the back of the head at the couple’s home in Prattville.
Tatum’s defense attorneys claimed that the shots were fired in self-defense, alleging that during an argument, their client’s wife pulled out a .38 caliber revolver, and when he tried to grab it from her, it went off.
Summer was rushed to a local hospital, where she was placed on life support. Her baby was delivered and brought to the NICU. Both died a short time later.
Prosecutors presented key evidence during the three-day trial, including audio recordings from a home security camera that captured Summer pleading for her life.
“Please don’t hurt me. I’ll do anything you want. Please don’t hurt me. Please don’t hurt my baby,” Summer can be heard saying on the recording.
Hunter is then captured on the recording saying, “Nope” multiple times before two pops are heard, about three seconds apart.
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