Falicia Blakely is an American woman from Jacksonville, Florida, who is currently serving three consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole for the murders of three men in Atlanta, Georgia, in August 2002.
Her case became widely known after the 2017 TV One film When Love Kills: The Falicia Blakely Story, which dramatized the events leading up to the killings.
Early Life
Reliable details about Blakely’s childhood are limited, and several biographical facts (including her exact birth date) have never been publicly confirmed. According to her own account and the book that inspired the film about her life, she was born around 1983 in Jacksonville, Florida.
She has described a difficult upbringing. Her father reportedly spent much of her childhood in and out of prison, and she has said her mother was largely absent from her life as well. Multiple accounts describe Blakely spending significant time with her grandmother growing up.
She relocated to the Atlanta area as a teenager, around age 15 or 16, and began working as an exotic dancer using a fake ID, having dropped out of high school. She became pregnant and had a son when she was a teenager, and she has said she took on dancing work to support him.
Her exact birth date is not publicly known, so a precise current age cannot be confirmed. Various secondhand accounts have placed her birth year anywhere between 1983 and 1987.
The Relationship With Michael Berry
While working as a dancer in Atlanta, Blakely became involved with an older man identified in court and news coverage as Michael Berry, also referred to by the nickname “Big Dino.” Accounts of the relationship describe him as significantly older than Blakely and controlling.
Berry was never criminally charged in connection with the murders. According to reporting from outlets including Essence and Sportskeeda, Blakely’s defense team argued during her case that her age and background should be considered as mitigating factors, but prosecutors and courts did not find sufficient evidence to charge Berry himself.
The 2002 Murders
Over a roughly 24-hour period beginning August 15, 2002, Blakely and an accomplice, fellow dancer Ameshia Ervin, carried out a string of armed robberies and three murders in the Atlanta area.
On August 15, Blakely and Ervin robbed and fatally shot Claudell Christmas, 35, and his friend Raymond Goodwin, 34, in an apartment. Both men reportedly knew the women beforehand.
Later that night, the pair met 29-year-old Lemetrius Twitty at a bar in Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood. They lured him back to his apartment, robbed him, and shot him as well; his death was officially recorded the following day, August 16.
Twitty had reportedly been a witness in connection with a separate, unrelated 2000 incident involving NFL linebacker Ray Lewis.
A week after the killings, Blakely and Ervin were arrested in the restroom of a Mrs. Winner’s Chicken & Biscuits restaurant in Atlanta, where the restaurant’s owner had become suspicious of them and called police.
Officers found the women driving a car that had belonged to one of the victims. Both women reportedly confessed to the killings after their arrest.
Sentencing
Prosecutors initially sought the death penalty against Blakely, who at the time was identified in court coverage as the youngest woman in Georgia facing capital murder charges.
She ultimately pleaded guilty to the murders and related armed robbery charges to avoid execution.
She was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, having admitted to firing the fatal shots.
Ervin, who agreed to testify against Blakely as part of a plea deal, received a more lenient sentence: one life term with parole eligibility after 14 years.
Sources differ on whether Blakely was 18 or 19 years old at the time of the murders and her subsequent arrest, and on the exact prison facility where she has been held over the years, with different reports naming Lee Arrendale State Prison and DeKalb County Jail in Georgia.
None of these specifics have been confirmed through an official, current Georgia Department of Corrections record search for this article.
Her Son and the Book A Treacherous Hustle
Blakely had a son who was about two years old at the time of her arrest in 2002. Several entertainment outlets have reported that, wanting her son to eventually understand the circumstances of her imprisonment, Blakely worked with author Sereniti Hall on a book about her life titled A Treacherous Hustle.
That book is widely cited as the basis for the 2017 film about her story. Details about her son’s current life, including his age and circumstances, have not been independently verified through reliable reporting and are omitted here.
When Love Kills: The Falicia Blakely Story (2017)
The TV One film, starring Niatia “Lil Mama” Kirkland as Blakely and Lance Gross as Michael Berry, dramatized her path from teenage mother to dancer to convicted murderer. The film premiered in 2017 and is credited with renewing public interest in her case.
In April 2023, the Oxygen true-crime series Snapped also revisited the case in an episode focused on Blakely and Ervin’s crime spree.
Net Worth
There is no reliable, verifiable figure for Falicia Blakely’s net worth. Estimates circulating online vary widely, from roughly $50,000 to several million dollars, and none of these figures trace back to a credible financial source.
Given her decades of incarceration, any specific net worth figure should be treated as unverified.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Falicia Blakely do?
She and an accomplice, Ameshia Ervin, robbed and murdered three men in Atlanta over roughly 24 hours in August 2002, reportedly at the direction of Blakely’s boyfriend.
How old was Falicia Blakely when she was arrested?
Reports differ, citing either 18 or 19 years old. Her exact birth date has never been publicly confirmed.
Where is Falicia Blakely now?
She is serving three consecutive life sentences without parole in the Georgia prison system. Reports differ on her specific facility.
Is Falicia Blakely’s boyfriend, Michael Berry, in prison?
No. He was never criminally charged in connection with the murders.
Is there a movie about Falicia Blakely?
Yes. When Love Kills: The Falicia Blakely Story (2017) is based on her life and the murders.
The Bottom Line
Falicia Blakely is known primarily for a 2002 crime spree in Atlanta that resulted in three deaths and a triple life sentence without parole.
Her case, shaped by a reportedly difficult childhood and an exploitative relationship with an older man, became the basis for a 2017 TV One film and later an Oxygen Snapped episode.
Much of what circulates online about her current life, finances, and family is unverified or contradictory across sources. The confirmed facts remain her conviction, her sentence, and her continued incarceration in Georgia.