Left to right: Daniel Harmon and Jamilla Smith (Aiken County Sheriff's Office).
A South Carolina man will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars for chasing down his ex-girlfriend and killing her while she was on the phone with 911 dispatchers to alert them about the pursuit.
On Friday, Daniel Harmon, 36, pleaded guilty to one count each of murder and kidnapping, according to Aiken County authorities.
The defendant was subsequently sentenced to 45 years in prison on the murder count and 30 years on the kidnapping count. The court assessed the sentences to run consecutively, or one after another.
The underlying incident occurred on Dec. 2, 2023.
Early in the day, Jamilla Smith, 30, called 911 to report a domestic violence incident involving her ex-boyfriend along Interstate 20.
Hours passed. Then, just after 8:30 p.m., Smith called 911 again and told dispatchers Harmon had broken into her home and was chasing her down the road, according to a criminal complaint affidavit obtained by Augusta, Georgia-based ABC affiliate WJBF.
The county employees on the other end of the telephone heard a car engine revving – followed by Smith screaming. In the ensuing chaos, the victim dropped her cellphone and dispatchers heard a man telling Smith to get into his car so he could take her to the emergency room.
Smith repeatedly refused the man's entreaties, eventually exclaimed that he had run her over with his vehicle, and said she was in pain before the 911 call ended, the affidavit explained.
The woman never made it to an emergency room of any sort – though Harmon was arrested three days later after authorities tracked down a Dodge Charger that had been rented to the killer. Investigators found Smith's blood in the vehicle's trunk but not the woman herself.
Months would pass before Smith's body was recovered.
In May 2024, the victim's remains were found in a wooded area near the 2100 block of Silver Bluff Road in Aiken. After an autopsy, the Aiken County coroner determined the woman had died from multiple gunshot wounds to the head.
The victim left behind a large family who loved her, including two children.
Several family members of the deceased spoke during the since-condemned man's sentencing hearing this week.
"It still hurts, but I'm relieved that it's finally come to an end," Smith's grandmother said in comments reported by WJBF. "We've been suffering for over two years, so I'm glad that this decision was finally made today."
The slain woman's mother also welcomed the end of the ordeal but questioned whether justice was truly served.
"I am happy that the deal did go through," she said. "But, I don't know – it still doesn't feel enough – not enough for her life."
The defendant acknowledged his actions in an allocution.
"I deep down apologize to all six, seven family members or families that have been hurt from this," Harmon said, according to a courtroom report by Augusta-based CBS and MyNetworkTV affiliate WRDW. "If y'all can, I just ask that y'all forgive me in Jesus name, amen."
In the courtroom, however, Smith's mother demurred.
"He doesn't seem remorseful," she said. "He tried to say sorry, but his actions don't say sorry. It shattered our lives."
David Harris contributed to this report.