A Louisiana man broke into his ex-girlfriend's apartment and gunned down her new lover hiding in her bathtub in what defense attorneys argued was a "crime of passion."
A jury convicted Alvin Joseph Allen III, 23, of second-degree murder and illegal use of dangerous weapons for the death of 25-year-old Keandre Williams in Sept. 2022, according to The Advocate.
Allen broke down the door to his ex's Baton Rouge, Louisiana apartment and sought out Williams after several of his phone calls to his former girlfriend went unanswered.
He struck his ex in the face, but she and her roommate managed to escape.
Allen found Williams hiding in the bathtub and shot him five times with an assault rifle, killing him on the spot, the outlet reported.
The defense tried to make the case their client was guilty of a lesser charge of manslaughter, arguing he made a split-second decision to kill after multiple attempts to get a hold of the woman were unsuccessful.
Describing the killing as a "crime of passion," defense attorney Samuel Ward Jr., tried to shift some of the blame to the ex-girlfriend, accusing her of having a relationship with both men at the same time.
"This wasn't a situation where he was an ex-boyfriend. It was a boyfriend, and that's the problem. She had more than one lover," said Ward, according to the paper.
"It seems like a very clear-cut case for manslaughter," he added. "Very difficult facts, I'll give you that. He was in love with this girl and his blood was boiling. He shouldn't have done it, but he did and he's accepting responsibility for that. But it's not murder."
Prosecutors slammed the defense and maintained Allen's actions were premeditated.
"He didn't want to fight; he wanted to kill," Assistant District Attorney Schyler Brooks told the court during closing arguments Thursday. "And that's what he did. He busted down the door and murdered Mr. William"
"He unloaded this gun into Mr. Williams' body, into that apartment," Brooks said, "and Mr. Williams never had a chance."
Allen will be sentenced at a later date. He faces up to life in prison.
