JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 20-year-old Jacksonville woman who pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges stemming from the shooting death of a 19-year-old woman last year has been sentenced to 5 years in prison.
Aniyah Womack, 19, was shot in the stomach and dropped off at a local hospital in May. She died hours later. For 135 days, her family waited for answers.
Mariah Clayton was later identified as a suspect and arrested in October 2023. She changed her plea from not guilty to guilty on March 8.
JSO interviewed people who were inside the apartment where the shooting happened and one witness said Clayton and Womack were in the bathroom filming TikTok videos late that night in May 2023. A witness told police Clayton was holding an “all-black rifle” and Womack was filming her popping out of the shower with the gun.
A short time later, a man entered the room, said they didn’t need to be playing with the rifle and tried to take the gun from Clayton, JSO said. Clayton then began to pull away and the man said, “Let me check something,” and reached for the rifle before it went off, a witness told police. The witness said they thought the man was going to check the safety of the gun held by Clayton, but he did not touch it before it went off.
Based on witness testimony, investigators said they believe Clayton was in possession of the rifle at the time of the incident.
“Clayton, while attempting to film TikTok videos, was inappropriately handling the rifle and was culpably negligent in her actions even after being told that she should not be playing with the rifle,” her warrant reads. “The culpably negligent actions of Ms. Clayton led her to be directly responsible for the death of Aniyah Womack.”
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Womack’s family said they wanted justice for Aniyah.
The Womack family also encourages families who are still searching for justice for their loved ones to never lose hope.
“Don’t stop fighting for your babies. Y’all gotta speak up. You got to be present. You got to show up. You got to make sure you connect with some of the people in the community mad dads, silent women speaking her foundation, like build a support system.”
Womack’s family said that her smile and personality will be truly missed.
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