Coast man sentenced in manslaughter slaying of pregnant woman and unborn child
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- A South Mississippi man claimed his rifle accidentally discharged.
- The shooting left a pregnant woman and her unborn child dead.
- Judge Larry Bourgeois issued sentence in Biloxi Circuit Court.
A D’Iberville man is headed to prison for 10 years after he pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter Monday in the shooting deaths of a pregnant woman and her unborn child.
Circuit Court Judge Larry Bourgeois sentenced Eric Adams, 38, to a total of 40 years on both counts, to run concurrently, and suspended all but 10 years for him to serve.
Adams said he was trying to put away his rifle in his third-floor apartment in D’Iberville when it accidentally discharged, the bullet tearing through his apartment door and into his neighbor’s apartment.
The June 15, 2022, shooting led to the death of Stayvia Leone Hood, 23, and her unborn child. Hood had been sitting on her couch eating dinner when the bullet struck her.
Hood lived in the third-floor apartment across from Adams’ apartment at the Landmark on Lamey Bridge Road.
After the gun discharged, Adams called 911 for help.
When D’Iberville police got to the scene, they said they forced their way into Hood’s apartment and found her suffering from a gunshot wound to the head.
First responders attempted life-saving measures, but Hood died at the scene.
Adams had no other felony convictions.
Before sentencing, Hood’s relatives talked about how the deaths had devastated her family.
The Harrison County prosecutor’s office prosecuted the case.
This story was originally published July 24, 2025 at 3:11 PM.
