Life in prison for killing pregnant girlfriend

On the second day of deliberations, a Philadelphia jury Monday convicted a Strawberry Mansion man of murdering his pregnant girlfriend and the couple's unborn child.

Common Pleas Judge Carolyn Engel Temin immediately sentenced Tyrell Hart, 22, to life in state prison without parole for the fatal Oct. 14, 2009 shooting of Selene Raynor, 21, and a term of 20-to-40 years in prison for the third-degree murder of the unborn baby.

Raynor, a West Chester University chemistry major, was slain when she met with Hart to discuss the baby.

Not wanting to become a father at 19, Hart shot Raynor once in the face and left her to die behind the wheel of her Jeep Cherokee which was parked not far from their respective homes in the city's Strawberry Mansion section.

After being picked up by police for questioning two days later, Hart made two statements. In the first he said the shooting was an accident. In the second he confessed to shooting the victim due to his fear of fatherhood and having to tell his family.

Before leaving the courtroom Monday, Hart told Raynor's family that he had found God, that he was happy that she believed in God and that she was in a better place.

"It may seem like I lost. But actually, I won because before I came here I was a lost soul," Hart said.

Six months after Raynor's death, West Chester University awarded her degree posthumously to her family.

"That was a very proud moment for all of us," Danette Raynor, the victim's mother, said after leaving court.

"I'm happy that Mr. Hart has found God. I'm very happy about that because I had been praying for his soul," she added. "And I just thank God for justice today."

Contact Mensah M. Dean at 215-568-8278 or deanm@phillynews.com.