A Massachusetts man, aged 30, has been sentenced to 30 to 40 years in prison for shooting his pregnant girlfriend, the mother of his children, in the head at close range. The incident occurred while three children were present in the home. Shaun Holiday was sentenced by a superior court judge on Tuesday for his brutal attack on Amanda Holyoke, who miraculously survived but was left permanently blind, according to law enforcement officials.
Holiday was found guilty by a jury on multiple felony charges, including armed assault in a dwelling, armed home invasion, assault and battery upon a pregnant person, armed assault with intent to murder, and assault and battery with a deadly weapon. His sentence consists of two parts: one sentence of 25 to 30 years and an additional sentence of five to 10 years, to be served consecutively.
The Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office released a statement detailing the attack, which took place on Sept. 8, 2020, in Holyoke’s third-floor apartment located in the 600 block of North Main Street, approximately 20 miles south of Boston. Brockton Police Department officers responded to a 911 call that afternoon about an adult female with a gunshot wound to the head. Upon arrival, first responders found Holyoke, who was 27 weeks pregnant with Holiday’s child, near the entrance of the building with a gunshot wound to her temple.
Holiday was not present when authorities first arrived. Holyoke was transported to Good Samaritan Hospital for treatment and later airlifted to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston for specialized care due to the severity of her injury.
Police followed a blood trail to Holyoke’s apartment where they found three young children. As the children were being escorted out of the building, one of them identified Holiday, who was sitting on the sidewalk being treated for a gunshot wound to his left forearm, as their father.
Investigators used witness interviews, city camera video surveillance, and location points from Holiday’s GPS monitoring bracelet to establish that Holiday had arrived at the apartment earlier that day. He then gained access to the apartment, approached Holyoke from behind, and shot her in the right temple with a .40 caliber firearm while their three children were present. The bullet exited Holyoke’s left temple and lodged in Holiday’s forearm, leaving her permanently blind.
After the shooting, Holiday fled the scene on foot, only to return later to find police already present. District Attorney Tim Cruz described Holiday’s attack on Holyoke as “despicable” and “cowardly.”
In addition to the charges mentioned, Holiday was also convicted on counts of unlawful possession of a firearm while in the commission of a felony, aggravated assault and battery, unlawful possession of ammunition without a firearm identification card, reckless endangerment of a child, and intimidation of a witness. The latter charge is related to Holiday’s alleged multiple attempts to prevent Holyoke from testifying against him at trial.
Following his prison term, Holiday will be on probation and will be prohibited from having any contact with the victims without explicit court authorization. He will also be required to wear a GPS tracking device, undergo a mental health evaluation, and follow any subsequent treatment recommendations.