Bio

Christopher "Pops" Goins was born on November 5, 1973. By 1994, at age 20, he was reportedly involved in drug dealing and was in a relationship with a primary girlfriend in Richmond, Virginia, while also seeing 14-year-old Tamika Jones, who lived with her family in the Gilpin Court public housing complex in Richmond. When Tamika became seven months pregnant with Goins's child, and his primary girlfriend learned of the affair and pregnancy, Goins grew increasingly angry. A taxi driver later testified at trial that Goins had expressed anger over the pregnancy and had threatened to kill Tamika and her entire family in the time leading up to the murders.

Murder Story

On the morning of October 14, 1994, Goins, accompanied by a friend, Barry Scott, arrived at the Jones family's apartment, where Tamika and six other family members were present: her parents, James Nathaniel Randolph Jr., 35, and Daphne Jones, 29; her siblings Nicole, 9, David, 4, and Robert, 3; and her 18-month-old sister, Kenya. Goins went through the apartment methodically, shooting each family member. James Randolph was shot nine times, including twice in the head. Nicole and Robert were found by police together in one bedroom; one of the youngest children was killed while still in their crib, and another died clutching their mother's leg. Each adult and child victim was shot at least once in the head.

Goins then appeared in the doorway of Tamika's bedroom and shot her nine times, including three shots to her midsection; one bullet struck the head of her seven-month-old fetus, killing the unborn child and causing Tamika to lose the pregnancy. Tamika survived the shooting but permanently lost her ability to have children as a result of her injuries. During the attack, she also shielded and hugged her baby sister, Kenya, who was shot in the arm but survived. As the shooting stopped, Tamika managed to call 911 and identify Goins by name as the shooter, providing crucial evidence used at his later trial.

Investigators recovered cartridge casings at the crime scene and matched them to unfired cartridges found at the apartment of an associate, helping build the case against Goins. Goins fled to New York following the murders and was arrested in Brooklyn on November 17, 1994.

Because Richmond public officials made pretrial comments calling for Goins's execution, his trial was moved on a change of venue to Gloucester County, Virginia. A jury convicted Goins of capital murder and thirteen other charges on June 13, 1995, including four counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder (for the wounding of Tamika and Kenya), and seven weapons offenses. On appeal, Goins unsuccessfully challenged the admission of Tamika's 911 call as inadmissible hearsay; courts ruled the recording qualified under the "excited utterance" exception given the circumstances under which it was made. Goins was formally sentenced to death specifically for the capital murder of 3-year-old Robert Jones, along with four consecutive life sentences and 73 additional years in prison for the other murders, attempted murders, and weapons charges. He had been on Virginia's death row since July 20, 1995.

The Virginia Supreme Court affirmed Goins's convictions and death sentence on direct appeal in 1996 (Goins v. Commonwealth, 251 Va. 442, 470 S.E.2d 114). His subsequent federal habeas corpus appeal was rejected by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which denied a certificate of appealability in 2000 (Goins v. Angelone).

Christopher Cornelius Goins was executed by lethal injection at Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt, Virginia, on December 6, 2000, at age 27. Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney David Hicks, who witnessed the execution, told reporters afterward, "He died showing no remorse," adding that as Goins was dying, "it was my impression that his facial expression was a smirk." Goins's final words were, "There is no God but Allah."