Paul Ivice

Special to Treasure Coast Newspapers

FORT PIERCE – A Port St. Lucie man was sentenced to two life terms Friday after a Circuit Court jury found him guilty of murdering his wife and her unborn child.

After two days of testimony, the jury deliberated for about 90 minutes Friday afternoon before finding Chekingson Sinclair, now 25, guilty of first-degree premeditated murder, murder of an unborn child and tampering with evidence.

The charges stemmed from the Oct. 26, 2014 fatal shooting of his pregnant 24-year-old wife, Latwassa Argrett, in their home in the 300 block of Southeast Walton Lakes Drive.

Assistant State Attorney Brandon White said, "This wasn’t just a murder, this was an execution."

The couple had been married less than a year, and Argrett was seven weeks pregnant.

Sinclair, who did not testify in the trial, admitted to police that he wanted to kill his wife after he confronted her over a text message she received from a former boyfriend.

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He told investigators he had doubts the child was his, and that the couple argued because he was insecure and jealous, always suspecting women of cheating on him.

Sinclair told police he and his wife were arguing early Sunday about a text message she had received from another man and he threw her phone in the toilet.

Sinclair gave police an elaborate story about how his wife got a steak knife from the kitchen and chased him around their apartment before he shot her.

He admitted to killing his wife, but claimed it was self-defense after she lunged at him with the knife.

White, who was assisted at trial by Assistant State Attorney Justin Cormier, said evidence showed Sinclair shot twice. The first shot grazed Argrett's head and knocked her to the floor. She was prone when he shot her in the back of the head.

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Sinclair then spent three hours staging the scene before calling 911 around 9:30 a.m., White said.

Police grew suspicious, however, when they learned a neighbor heard a gunshot about 6:30 a.m. he did not report.

Port St. Lucie Police crime scene investigator Lisa Falk testified blood splatter from the gunshot wound and other physical evidence at the scene revealed that Argrett’s body had been moved and the knife placed near her hand.

He also sent a text message to a friend, saying he wouldn't be able to participate in fantasy football that season, and texts to his mother and brother saying he loved them.

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Under Florida statute, because Sinclair was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of his wife, the death of the unborn child also becomes first-degree murder.

Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty, so a life sentence is automatic on each murder count. Circuit Judge Steven Levin sentenced Sinclair almost immediately after the verdict.

Sinclair, who has been in custody since his arrest a few hours after killing his wife, was sentenced to time served on the tampering charge.