Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of murder and abuse. Reader discretion is advised.
Alessia Mesquita was shot and killed outside a parked car on Clifton St. in New Haven. The murder took place in broad daylight on March 22, 2021, and authorities found out that it was her boyfriend, Rashod Newton, who shot her. Their one-year-old daughter was in the back seat of the parked car when Newton killed Mesquita. Rashod Angels and Demons is an American Monster episode that revolves around the killing of Alessia Mequita.
According to Fox 61, Alessia’s family asserted and described the various kinds of abuse that she has been a victim of ever since she began dating Rashod. The financial, physical, and emotional abuse reportedly created an apparent distance between Alessia and her loved ones. Rashod Newton had been dealing with a drug problem, which she allegedly wished to help him with. Alessia Mesquita was 28 years old and a mother of two at the time of death.
Since the incident, Alessia’s children have been in their grandmother, Sandy Mesquita’s care. Also, Sandy has reportedly been raising awareness about domestic violence and hopes to prevent incidents like the one that broke their family. She wore purple to court to send out a message about domestic violence, Fox61 News reported.
“Alessia was loved, she was a wonderful mother of two to Alaia and to Joseph and she will forever be that. And now I’m Alaia’s grandmother, her mother, and her father,” Sandy said while addressing a crowd at a vigil that was organized in honor of Alessia Mesquita, News 8 reported. She also expressed that she had asked Alessia not to go to see Rashod before she heard gunshots the next morning.
When was Rashod Newton convicted of Alessia Mesquita’s murder?
Authorities found Rashod Newton, along with the one-year-old, at the crime scene. They charged him with murder, risk of injury to a child, and criminal possession of a firearm. Alessia was found dead at the scene. He told authorities that he “snapped.” The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner found that she had been shot around four times, NBC Connecticut reported. The couple allegedly got into an argument before the shooting.
Rashod Newton was arrested for the shooting of Alessia Mesquita. Additionally, he was also charged with another shooting that took place in New Haven in 2020. On January 23, 2020, Rashod Newton allegedly shot and injured a housemate. The housemate attempted to break up a fight between Rashod and Alessia. The West Haven police pulled an arrest warrant against Rashod Newton. But the warrant was never served, the New Haven Independent reported.
He pleaded guilty to all charges related to Alessia Mesquita’s murder as well as the West Haven shooting of a housemate. The plea occurred in court in December 2022, according to the Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice. On January 26, 2023, Rashod Newton was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Sandy Mesquita said she believes justice has been served even though Alessia will never return, Fox61 News reported.
Angels and Demons is an episode of American Monster that will be aired at 9 pm, on Sunday, January 28, 2024. It is episode 10 of American Monster’s 9th season. The episode will reportedly deal with the nature of Alessia Mesquita’s relationship with Rashod Newton and the multiple kinds of abuse that led to Alessia’s murder in 2021. It will be airing on Investigation Discovery.
