A Bay Area man will spend the rest of life behind bars after being found guilty of murdering his ex-girlfriend in front of her young children.

On the night of April 3, 2017, Rashanda Franklin, 29, called Richmond police to report her ex-boyfriend was stalking her. When officers arrived at her home, they reportedly found Lawyer Dushan McBride trying to get into the residence. Franklin explained the pair had been in a relationship for two years but that she had recently broken it off; in the weeks since, McBride had been harassing her relentlessly, trying to force her to come back.

Richmond police took a report and left the home. Less than 24 hours later, Franklin would be dead.

The next morning, Franklin loaded two of her young children into her Jeep to do school drop off. While in a church parking lot, Franklin saw McBride had followed them. In terror, she sped off, calling 911 as McBride pursued her. At the intersection of Rheem Avenue and 29th Street, McBride used his Mercedes to cut her off. The 911 call captured what happened when McBride got out of the car to confront his ex-girlfriend.

"I've got my kids in the car," Franklin said.

"I ain't playing with you," McBride responded. He then shot her in the torso with her children still in the backseat. A teenager who saw the cars and thought they had gotten into a crash filmed the aftermath on his phone, capturing some of Franklin's last moments as she bled to death behind the steering wheel.

Police found McBride at a fast food restaurant in Sacramento later that week and took him into custody.

Family members and even law enforcement were critical of Richmond police's response to Franklin's call for help the night before she was murdered. A former Richmond police captain went on the record with his critiques of his colleagues. "Everything I know about this incident now reinforces that we did not do enough to help her," he said.

Last week, McBride, who is now 51, was sentenced to 95 years to life in a state prison after a jury found him guilty of murder.

"This tragic case underscores the devastating reality of domestic violence, which claims far too many lives," Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton said in a statement. "While no verdict can bring back a mother taken from her children in such a senseless act of violence, this sentence provides the victim's family with a measure of justice and accountability."

Bay Area man stalked, murdered ex-girlfriend in front of her children