Alabama — An Alabama woman who told her boyfriend she was ready to “watch you die” and ran him over with her car will spend the rest of her life in prison.
Angelica Quintana, 31, was sentenced on Tuesday after a jury found her guilty in February, three years after being charged with murdering her boyfriend and the father of her three children, Dennis Melton.
In February 2022, police responded to reports of a pedestrian being hit by a vehicle on Interstate 59/20 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. What they thought was an accident was actually an intentional act by the car’s driver, Quintana.
As previously reported by Law&Crime, Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) state troopers discovered Melton beneath Quintana’s car when they arrived on Feb. 8, 2022. Melton was rushed to the hospital, but died shortly after arriving.
Witnesses testified at the trial that they saw Quintana’s car parked in an emergency lane on the left side of the road while Melton walked on the right, according to WBRC, a local Fox affiliate.
Quintana turned her car towards Melton, drove across three lanes of traffic, and intentionally struck him from behind.
But Quintana, according to the witnesses, was not finished yet.
WBRC reported that witnesses saw Quintana run over Melton and drag him across the pavement. The orange safety vest he was wearing at the time caused an orange streak on the highway.
An eyewitness showed the jury a video of Melton trapped under the car, taking his final breaths, while Quintana stood by and did nothing to help him.
About ten witnesses, including Melton’s sister, allegedly testified that they heard Quintana say to Melton, “If you get out of the car, I am going to watch you die.”
Quintana was convicted by a jury on February 14. On Tuesday, Judge Daniel Pruet handed her a life sentence. According to the Demopolis Times, a local news outlet present in the courtroom, Paula Whitney, chief assistant district attorney for the Sixth Circuit District of Alabama, stated after the sentencing that Quintana “never called 911” and “showed no remorse” during trial, adding, “I believe the judge took that into account when he delivered his verdict.”
