Man gets 55 years for killing ex-girlfriend in front of her kids

A West Side man has been sentenced to 55 years in prison for fatally shooting his ex-girlfriend in front of her two children in 2013 in the North Lawndale neighborhood.

Wynton Collins, 32, was convicted of first-degree murder in May, according to the Cook County state’s attorney’s office.

Thirty-year-old Georgina Randell was sitting on her cousin’s porch with her two children in the 1600 block of South Drake about 5:20 p.m. July 8, 2013, when Collins confronted her and tried to speak to her, prosecutors said.

After Randell refused to speak to him, Collins pulled out a semi-automatic handgun and fired at her in front of the children, ages 4 and 7, and four other relatives, prosecutors said.

After Collins fired the first two shots, Randell fell to the ground and begged him for her life, prosecutors said. Her children were standing near their mother’s body and also begged Collins to stop shooting.

Randell’s son threw a small toy at Collins to try to stop him from shooting his mother, prosecutors said.

Collins moved closer and shot her several more times, prosecutors said.

Randell was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where she died minutes later of multiple gunshot wounds to her left arm, breast and torso, authorities said.

Collins, who also lived in the 1600 block of South Drake, fled the scene and went to Bellwood, where he confessed to a family friend, prosecutors said. The woman called police and he was arrested.

Bellwood police recovered a 9 mm handgun, which was later identified as the murder weapon, prosecutors said.

Randell had moved back to her family’s home in North Lawndale just two months before and had started mapping out plans to pursue a career in criminal justice, the Sun-Times previously reported.

Judge Alfredo Maldonado sentenced Collins to 55 years in prison during a hearing Tuesday. He will receive credit for 1,135 days served in the Cook County Jail, and must serve three years of supervised release.