Fugitive facing murder charges for ‘execution-style’ shooting of ex-girlfriend in NY

The fugitive accused of killing his ex-girlfriend “execution-style” in Queens has been indicted on murder charges, prosecutors said — as the victim’s mother blasted him as an “animal” who “should be caged for the rest of his life.” 

De’Ovryion Elijha Ray, 23, who has been behind bars in his home state of South Carolina since October, learned Thursday that he’ll face murder charges back in the Big Apple for allegedly ambushing 21-year-old Dashanna Donovan.

He is charged with shooting Donovan in the head inside her East Elmhurst home in September as she fled for her life, cops said.

The news was bittersweet for Donovan’s grieving mom, Helena Hypolite.

“I’m ecstatic but I’m also sad because now I have to relive this all over again,” Hypolite told The Post by phone. 

“It was all about control, obsession, losing control….that’s what I got from him,” she added.

“She left him and he wasn’t in control anymore.”

New York prosecutors have 30 days to bring Ray back to the city.

He also faces criminal possession of a weapon charges.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny previously told reporters that video captured Donovan “hanging out” in an open courtyard in the back of her building near 96th Street and 31st Avenue, when she suddenly looked up and saw the gunman bolting toward her.

“It seems just from her reaction, she knows who the perpetrator is. The perpetrator has his left arm extended, holding a gun,” Kenny told reporters.

“She tries to run. She tries to run so frantically away from the scene, she actually runs out of her own shoes. She tries to get into the basement, where the perpetrator catches up to her and shoots her multiple times in the head, causing her demise,” he added.

Photos obtained by The Post show the bullet holes Ray allegedly left in the wall as he allegedly unloaded his weapon at Donovan. 

Donovan moved to the Big Apple just six months before she was killed to live with her grandmother and cousin and escape an abusive relationship with her ex.

“My personal feeling is that he wanted to kill my daughter,” Hypolite said, citing brutal alleged attacks in both December 2024 and January 2025.  

“He is an animal and he should be caged for the rest of his life,” she said.

“My daughter will not come back but at least he’s not on the streets to hurt or kill anybody else.”

If Ray is convicted of the top count, he faces up to 25 years to life in prison.

“My office secured the indictment of the defendant for the murder of Dashanna Donovan,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement.

“We allege that the defendant shot her in the head and then fled the state in an attempt to avoid accountability.”

“Our thoughts are with the victim’s loved ones as we seek justice.”