Donald Bricker: Maryland Man Who Pleaded Guilty In Death Of Girlfriend Seeks To Recant Plea Claim

Donald Bricker, 28, could not handle breaking up with his attractive and highly sociable girlfriend, Mariam “Shadé” Adebayo, 24. She had grown tired of his insecurities and controlling nature and broken things up, but agreed to meet Bricker one last time in a public place — a Target parking lot in Germantown, Maryland.

As the Washington Post reports, Adebayo thought she was playing it safe, but Bricker had no qualms about shooting her in broad daylight with an antique black-powder revolver, two times, the second time in the face when she had collapsed on the pavement. Bricker had purchased the gun, a replica of a .44-caliber, online. It was the only gun he could lay his hands on because his status as a felon prohibited him from getting a normal gun.

“When I shot her the first time, she was kind of running, then she stopped and she turned sideways, I saw her face, and she was just kind of like in a daze and then she fell. I didn’t want her to feel pain, so I turned the barrel to the next bullet and shot her in the face.”

According to Bricker, he had planned to kill himself in front of her to let her know how much she had hurt him, but things spiraled out of control when she tried to run.

Nigerian Lady,Mariam Adebayo shot dead by her American ex-convict lover, Donald Bricker http://t.co/6CQKMVXPRV pic.twitter.com/sV2eerPqGf

— Twins Gist Mag (@Twinsgistmag) June 20, 2015

Bricker pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, but now wants to recant his guilty plea. In a highly unconventional request written from the confines of the Montgomery County jail, he claims he wants to withdraw his plea, blaming his attorney for not explicitly explaining the consequences and taking prescription pills which did not allow him to process his thoughts clearly.

On Thursday, Montgomery Circuit Judge Joseph Dugan addressed the lengthy request, telling Bricker that his request would be considered at another hearing. The judge also allowed him to dismiss his attorney and temporarily utilize the services of a public defender. He told Bricker that speed was of the essence if he was interested in hiring a private lawyer.

#Germantown Target victim Shade Adebayo w her mother & UMD grad photo. Ex-boyfriend Donald Bricker in custody. wusa9 pic.twitter.com/SCwkLecE3n

— Andrea McCarren (@AndreaMcCarren) June 2, 2015

Adebayo was raised in Germantown by African immigrant parents. She had earned a degree from the University of Maryland and forayed into the health-care industry, hoping to cut a niche in occupational therapy. Adebayo’s friends described her as ambitious, bubbly, and cheerful, a person who always saw the good in everything and everyone.

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Bricker, on the other hand, grew up near Hagerstown, northwest of Washington. By the time he was 6, he had been diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. This left him with low self-esteem and dealing with plenty of bullying all through middle school. By his 21st birthday, he had been charged with statutory rape with a 13-year-old girl and sentenced to two months in jail. The act got him in the sex offenders’ public database and prevented him from getting a job.

In September 2014, Bricker met Adebayo online via a dating app known as Plenty of Fish. They were talking online for over a month before meeting in person and started dating thereafter. Adebayo was always spending her weekends in Hagerstown.

Friends wondered what she saw in him because they were exact opposites, but the 24-year-old was not swayed by what people thought of her relationship. She believed in Bricker, trusting him to make something out of his life, despite being dealt a bad card. She encouraged him in his quest to get a job and often took him shopping for professional clothes to look nice during interviews.

In 2015, things began to get out of hand. Bricker became increasingly controlling, wanting to know where she was at every given time and calling her up constantly when she was out having a nice time with friends. In March, while on a beach trip with friends, Bricker had sent Adebayo 1,526 text messages within a span of four days, bombarding her with questions and accusing her for not answering his messages.

The relationship strain was too much for Adebayo and she had told Bricker May 1 that she needed space. Bricker had persisted with an avalanche of text messages, phone calls, and showing up at her workplace unannounced. On May 8, she told him it was over. He continued to harass her to at least see him one last time. She had agreed to see him at a Target parking lot, where he shot her to death.

[Image via Shutterstock/Artem Furman]