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Alessia Mesquita, the New Haven resident, was shot and killed in broad daylight in front of a parked car on Clifton Street on March 22, 2021. As Alessia's body was left on the road, the authorities from the New Haven Police Department tracked down the incident to her boyfriend, Rashod Newton.
Rashod shot Alessia four times and took off with the car with their one-year-old daughter in the back seat. Besides the fact that Alessia and Rashod shared an abusive relationship, Rashod Newton had been previously facing narcotics and assault charges. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison on January 26, 2023.
The American Monster episode Angels and Demons chronicles Alessia Mesquita's murder as the synopsis reads,
"When Alessia Mesquita reconnects with her childhood crush, Rashod Newton, the couple fall desperately in love; when the romance becomes overshadowed by Rashod's behavior, Alessia has to make a decision that will have deadly consequences."
The episode aired on January 28, 2024, at 9 p.m. EST on Investigation Discovery.
What happened to Alessia Mesquita? Details explored
Alessia Mesqita of New Haven had been living with her boyfriend, Rashod Akeem Newton, with their one-year-old daughter Alaia Grace Newton. According to Fox 61 News, Alessia's family and friends reported the kinds of abuse the victim went through in her relationship with Newton.
Alessia's family gave the courtroom a vivid description of the abuse as they mentioned her pulling away from her loved ones as she struggled emotionally, financially, and physically. Mesquita had allegedly wanted to help Rashod with his drug addiction and at the same time, wanted to provide a stable home to her children.
Alessia Mesquita was in a car with her boyfriend, Rashod Newton, and daughter, Alaia when the two argued and she stepped out of the car. She had stepped out of the car when Newton started driving away with Alaia inside. As Alessia started chasing the vehicle and shouting at Newton, he stepped out to shoot her, per NBC Connecticut. Newton, then, fled the scene with his daughter.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner reported that Alessia suffered four gunshot wounds which took her life. The officials from the New Haven Police Department found Rashod Newton and their daughter strapped to the back seat on Eastern Street sometime later. Alaia was subsequently checked for injuries.
One of Alessia Mesquita's best friends told the courtroom during Rashod's trial,
"He killed her long before he pulled the trigger."
Alessia's mother Sandy Mesquita added,
"I have not had one dry eye since the day I found out she passed away. It's just sad, just sad that love has to hurt like this, and love has to kill."
Considering Mesquita and Newton's relationship was clouded by domestic abuse, Sandy Mesquita had initially refused to let Alessia return to Rashod when she came to visit her mother. Despite her wishes, Sandy found her daughter to have her bags packed with Alaia's belongings the day before her murder. Mesquita mentioned that she would be meeting Rashod at Target and would be back soon. However, that was the last time Sandy ever saw her daughter.
Rashod Newton, an individual with a rap sheet, had been arrested and charged with Alessia Mesquita's murder. He pled guilty to charges of risk of injury to a minor, and criminal possession of a firearm, per The Cinemaholic.
