When Love Kills: The Falicia Blakely Story, a TV One original film produced by Tasha Smith, follows the tragic life of a young teenage mom turned stripper turned brainwashed, abused murderer.
Falicia Blakely — a 34-year-old woman who is currently serving three life sentences for murdering three men by the age of 19 — has a story that will forever be immortalized by a riveting television movie.
But who is the woman behind the tragic tale? And did she really do it in the name of love?
Here are six things to know about Falicia Blakely that the film doesn’t mention:
– To avoid the death penalty, Blakely plead guilty to the armed robbery and double murders of Raymond Goodwin, 34, and Claudell Christmas, 35. Falicia committed these crimes in 2002 when she was 18-years-old under the orders of her abusive pimp.
– Blakely was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences with no eligibility for parole after pleading guilty to pulling the trigger in the murders. Her accomplice in crime and fellow stripper Armeshia Ervin received one life sentence with eligibility for parole in 2024.
– Blakely was arrested in the restroom of a diner, Mrs Winner’s, where she and Ervin were allegedly planning to commit a robbery. They had recently robbed several other fast food restaurants in Atlanta. Their arrest came about one week after they went on a 24-hour murder spree.
– Blakely and Ervin killed a third man, Lemetrius Twitty, 12 hours after they killed the pair who they confessed to murdering. Lemetrius was a witness to a fatal Atalanta fight that led to murder charges against NFL linebacker Ray Lewis.
– When they were arrested, police realized that Blakely and Ervin were driving the car of one of the victims they murdered. The restaurant owners at Mrs Winner’s called police when the pair began to act suspicious after a string of robberies at other fast-food restaurants.
– At the time of the murders, Blakely was the youngest woman in Georgia to face the death penalty. She is now serving life in prison, without the possibility of parole. But she hopes her story helps other young women in similar situations.