A Port Wentworth mother was executed in her own home, shot eleven times by her child’s father as their infant son screamed just feet away. Deanna Ellison, 29, was three days from celebrating her first Mother’s Day when Shawn Balden Jr. arrived at her Miriam Jordan Road residence on the evening of May 6, 2021. The brutality of the attack and the presence of their five-month-old child has sent shockwaves through the community and highlighted the extreme dangers of domestic violence.
Police confirmed Balden, 33, was taken into custody following a high-speed chase on Interstate 16 in Treutlen County after an anonymous tipster reported he had confessed to the killing. The Georgia State Patrol performed a precision immobilization technique to end the pursuit, capturing the suspect roughly an hour after the murder. He now faces a life sentence without parole.
The sequence of events, as detailed in court during Balden’s recent trial, paints a picture of calculated horror. Officials and the medical examiner testified that Balden first fired six rounds from a 9mm revolver into Ellison’s body. He then paused, reloaded the weapon, and fired five more shots into the already dying woman. Eleven total gunshot wounds were counted, leaving no doubt as to the intent.
Neighbors reported hearing the rapid gunfire and called 911 around 6:30 p.m. First responders arrived to find the home locked, with the desperate cries of an infant audible from inside. Upon forcing entry, they discovered Ellison deceased and her son physically unharmed but profoundly traumatized. The child was later placed in the care of family.
This tragedy was the violent culmination of a history of 𝓪𝓫𝓾𝓼𝓮. Ellison had previously left Balden in 2020 while three months pregnant, after he assaulted her for inviting her mother to dinner. She had spent subsequent months building an independent life focused on her son. The approaching Mother’s Day holiday was to be her first celebration of that new chapter.
During the investigation, Port Wentworth detectives noted Balden showed no concern for the welfare of his son. He instead attempted to manipulate the interview, offering false narratives about the crime. This callousness was presented to the jury as evidence of his character.
After a trial featuring harrowing testimony from the medical examiner and investigators, a Chatham County jury found Shawn Balden Jr. guilty on all counts in December 2025. The charges included malice murder, felony murder, and aggravated 𝒶𝓈𝓈𝒶𝓊𝓁𝓉. On January 18, 2026, a judge sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus five consecutive years for a firearm charge.
District Attorney Shalena Cook Jones stated the sentence ensures Balden will never again pose a threat to the community. While justice has been delivered procedurally, it cannot fill the void left for Ellison’s family. Her son, now approaching school age, will grow up without his mother’s presence.
Deanna Ellison’s story is a stark and devastating reminder of the lethal potential of domestic 𝓪𝓫𝓾𝓼𝓮, particularly when victims attempt to leave. Her efforts to create a safe life for herself and her child were ultimately thwarted by a man whose need for control ended in execution. Advocates stress that leaving is often the most dangerous period and urge anyone in a similar situation to seek coordinated help from local resources.
The case has reverberated through Georgia, prompting renewed calls for stronger protective measures and support systems for victims of intimate partner violence. As the legal process concludes, Ellison is remembered not as a statistic, but as a young mother whose future was violently stolen. Her family vows her son will know of her love and courage, even as they grapple with an unimaginable loss just before the holiday meant to honor her.