March 31, 2022

Victim Bludgeoned with Pistol, Then Fatally Shot

Decatur, Ga.- DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announces a conviction by jury trial in the murder case against a woman accused of killing a man in a hotel room following an argument over money. Jurors returned guilty verdicts Monday afternoon against 30-year-old Shauntae Taylor on charges of Murder, Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault, and weapons offenses in connection with the shooting death of Miguel Munoz, 28.

The victim’s body was discovered by a housekeeper on the floor of a hotel room at the Courtyard by Marriott on Executive Park Drive in Brookhaven on September 4, 2019. He had been shot in the upper abdomen, though no weapon was found on site. According to the investigation, the victim checked in to the hotel just before 10 o’clock the night before. At approximately 4:30 a.m., Defendant Taylor and another woman, whom she was prostituting, visited the victim in his room. Defendant Taylor left the two alone and upon her return became angered that the young woman had changed her mind about engaging in drugs and sexual activity. Nevertheless, Defendant Taylor demanded the victim “pay for their time.” When he refused, according to testimony at trial, Taylor repeatedly struck the victim in the head with a gun. The young woman who had accompanied the defendant to the hotel, ran from the room. The victim was then shot and left for dead. Surveillance video showed Defendant Taylor and the woman fleeing the scene by car. A fugitive squad located the defendant at a nearby Days Inn motel two weeks after the crime.

Immediately following her conviction, Defendant Taylor was sentenced to a term of life plus 25 years in prison by DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Asha Jackson, who presided over the trial.

The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Charles Ciba, assigned to the Sexual Exploitation and Crimes Against Children (SECAC) Unit, with assistance from Assistant District Attorney Leah Hightower, DA Investigator Jacqueline Robinson, and Victim Advocate Jennifer Thompson. Detective Raul Perez of the Brookhaven Police Department led the initial investigation.