Tennessee – A Tennessee man was sentenced Thursday to forty five years in state prison after a jury convicted him in June of two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of 40-year-old Tammara and her eight-year-old daughter, Aquarus. The court imposed a tweny-year term for the mother’s death and a consecutive twenty-five-year term for the child’s death.
Tennessee authorities began investigating after family members reported the woman and her child missing in May 2020. Officers searching the area later located human remains in early July; investigators subsequently identified the remains as those of the mother and child.
When officers executed a search warrant at the defendant’s, 50-year-old GabrieI, residence, they found evidence the home had been recently cleaned and, using specialized equipment, located what investigators described as a large pool of bIood that had been scrubbed. Detectives also recovered items and other scene evidence that they said tied the man to the deaths; those findings formed part of the evidence presented at trial.
Autopsy results released by investigators showed the woman died of strangulation and blunt force trauma to the head, while her daughter sustained severe blunt force injuries to the head consistent with a violent beating. Medical examiners’ findings were described during the prosecution’s case and were used to establish cause of death at trial. Per reports, the child’s death was described as something like an afterthought by Tennessee authorities, who said her skuII appeared to have been stomped or crushed.
Officers located and questioned the defendant in July 2020; reports say he initially gave conflicting accounts about the women’s disappearance before investigators developed probable cause and charged him in connection with the deaths. Earlier that month, the defendant was found by police with another of the victim’s young daughters, still alive, in his care. Prosecutors described a pattern of prior contact between him and the victims and presented testimony from family members during the proceedings, including a relative who said the victims had last been seen in mid-May.
Witness testimony and physical evidence were central to the prosecution’s case. Prosecutors told the jury that surveillance and other investigative leads placed the man near relevant locations and that forensic work at the scene and at his residence supported the timeline developed by detectives. At one hearing, a family member testified about the living arrangements and the relationship between the victim and Boykins; the jury heard that evidence over the course of the trial.
The defense questioned aspects of the evidence during the trial, but the jury ultimately returned guilty verdicts on both counts of second-degree murder. At sentencing the judge noted the severity of the crimes and the impact on the victims’ family when imposing consecutive terms that will keep the defendant in custody for decades. While prosecutors did not present an official motive, they stated that both the defendant and the victim had a prior reIationship. The judge noted previous arguments and alleged incidents of abuse between them.
Family members and community advocates who followed the case described relief that the trial produced a guilty verdict and emphasized the lasting damage such violence causes. Legal filings and the prosecutor’s public statements show the state relied on medical examiner findings, physical evidence recovered by investigators, and witness testimony to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. Boykins will be scheduled for any remaining court procedures related to restitution or other post-conviction matters through the Hamilton County court system.
