DECATUR, Ga. — A jury delivered a guilty verdict in the case of a man who shot and killed the homecoming queen of a metro Atlanta high school. According to the DeKalb County District Attorney's Office, the 24-year-old was sentenced to life plus 25 years in prison, claiming he killed her because she was cheating on him.
Jayne Salazar-Chavez was 17 years old when she was shot and killed by Nakia Dorsey on Nov. 10, court documents say. Dorsey was found guilty on charges of felony murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and two counts of aggravated assault.
According to the DA's office, 24-year-old Brandon Lee Wilson and Salazar-Chavez were dating. Wilson was in the U.S. Army and reports said he came home to surprise her during Veteran's Day weekend.
When he got to the 17-year-old's home, and they were seated in the car together, she was "withdrawn," documents said; Wilson then asked the Salazar-Chavez if she was seeing someone else and demanded to see her phone, prosecutors said.
That's when Salazar-Chavez was confronted by the man about a "suggestive" text he saw in her phone from an unidentified number. Wilson called the number, and someone picked up but quickly hung up, the office said without saying anything.
Not long after, a call from the same number dialed them back; it was Dorsey. The DA said Dorsey and Wilson then argued on the phone about who was the teen's boyfriend. Evidence shows that Dorsey demanded she return his belongings.
After that call, Wilson and Salazar-Chavez left her home and returned around 11 p.m. The two were parked outside her DeKalb County home when Wilson said someone pointed a red laser and fired several shots, according to the report.
Salazar-Chavez suffered several shots to her back and abdomen, according to a police report. She and Wilson made it to a gas station in DeKalb County before officers found them.
The teenager was found on the ground next to a 2017 Silver Lexus with bullet holes seen in both the door and windshield. Wilson was shot in the leg and rushed to the hospital, according to the report.
Dorsey was found and arrested at an apartment complex in Morrow, according to the sheriff's office, days following the shooting. The DA's office said that an anonymous tip led them to Dorsey, with social media messages and his cell phone location showing that the two were in contact and that he was at the home before the shooting.
More about Jayne Salazar-Chavez
Salazar-Chavez had just been crowned homecoming queen at Towers High School in Decatur and was a well-respected leader in her Air Force JROTC program.
11Alive spoke with Salazar-Chavez's mother, Amparo Salazar when she learned of Dorsey's arrest in connection to her daughter's death – she was in pain and in tears.
"Just want to cry. Just want to cry. Just want to cry," she said in an earlier interview.
Amparo Salazar said her daughter was excited to graduate, join the Army and continue her education. She said she wishes she could've saved her daughter from violence and saved children everywhere from violent crime.
"No more buying – everybody – guns. Because now it’s terrible," Amparo Salazar said. "Especially young people. Because – no have responsibility. And this guy, he shoot my daughter."
Her only peace, she said, is knowing her daughter's heart was full of love for others and hope for the future.