Kaufman murder case
A witness testified in a bench trial before General Sessions Judge Melissa Blackburn in Nashville on Thursday that road rage could be the motive for the shooting of ICU nurse and Butler County native Caitlyn Kaufman.
According to a report in the Tennessean on the trial, investigators found no other link between Kaufman and suspects Devaunte L. Hill, 21, and James E. Cowan, 28, who were both charged with homicide.
The witness and investigators told the court that Kaufman may have cut the suspects' car off in traffic as they all traveled on Interstate 440.
A 2012 Butler Area High School graduate, Kaufman, 26, was gunned down in her Mazda SUV around 6:30 p.m. Dec. 3 on I-440 in Nashville while on her way to St. Thomas West Hospital, where she worked in the intensive care unit.
Her vehicle came to rest against a guardrail. A police officer who approached the vehicle three hours later discovered Kaufman's body in the driver's seat.
The rear driver's side window was shot out and investigators determined that Kaufman's car was struck by at least six bullets.
A Nashville medical examiner said Kaufman was struck once in the shoulder, and that she likely died just minutes after being shot.
The Tennessean reported the witness, whose identity is being protected by the Nashville courts because of the potential for physical harm, “reluctantly” appeared at the hearing Thursday to testify about interactions with one of the suspects.
When the witness contacted police over the shooting, the supposed murder weapon was in the individual's possession, according to the report from the hearing.
According to the Tennessean, Diane Kaufman of Chicora, Caitlyn's mother, sat in the front row during the hearing and was comforted by family when she wept at each mention of her daughter's name.
The unidentified witness testified that they met with Hill a few days after the shooting to swap guns with Hill, and that Hill also shared an article with the witness later that day with the message “I (expletive) up, you have to get rid of it.”
The witness said they believed the message meant to dispose of the weapon.
The gun was recovered from the witness's vehicle, and ballistics testing confirmed that it matched shell casings found on I-440 where Kaufman was shot.
Several hours of testimony at the bench hearing centered on evidence from cellphones, according to the report.
Cellphone data was used to track Kaufman's route and speed on the evening of Dec. 3.
That data showed she kept a steady speed of 70 mph until 6:08, when she began to slow. Detectives believe that coincides with the start of the shooting, according to testimony.
Investigators testified that data pulled from a phone believed to be Hill's showed repeated online searches using terms like “Nashville shooting today.”The searches occurred almost two hours before the discovery of Kaufman's body, according to testimony.Over the next few days, the user continued to search for news on the shooting and downloaded a photo of Kaufman's bullet-riddled vehicle that was posted by Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.Also during that time, the phone's user planned a birthday party and ordered pizza, the Tennessean report said.The birthday party may have been for Cowan, with whom Hill kept in “constant contact” before the shooting.Hill's bond was revoked to retain him in custody, which his attorney argued was “extreme.”“Mr. Hill has been tried and convicted in the media already,” public defender Georgia Sims said. “I would remind the court that, in this country, we have a presumption of innocence, and with that presumption is a commitment to liberty. Denying somebody their right to be free is a serious thing to do.”Blackburn replied that Thursday's testimony indicated Hill is a danger to the citizens of Davidson County and revoked his bond.She ordered the case be moved to a federal grand jury.Hill was arrested Dec. 11. The information that lead to his arrest came within one hour of a group of Nashville business owners and entrepreneurs putting up $50,000 toward a reward for anyone with information that could result in the solving of the case.Hill of East Nashville initially implicated himself in Kaufman's murder, investigators said, but now maintains his innocence.He remains in the Downtown Detention Center in Nashville.Cowan was arrested and charged Jan. 12 at a housing complex in the Antioch neighborhood, about 12 miles southeast of downtown Nashville, authorities said.During Cowan's arrest, authorities reported finding a “substantial” amount of Xanax pills and fentanyl, plus $2,100 in cash.Police also uncovered a Glock pistol with an extended magazine as well as a handgun.Cowan, who is a felon convicted of robbery in 2011, faces additional jail time if he is convicted of the new charges because of a probation violation and possession of weapons.He had been placed on the FBI's Most Wanted list Jan. 6 after he was identified as the second suspect in the Kaufman shooting.Cowan also remains in custody.A third suspect, Dimeneshia Carter, 21, was arrested Jan. 13 and charged with accessory after the fact for allegedly harboring a fugitive, who police identified as Cowan, her boyfriend.Hill and Cowan were present at the bench hearing Thursday, but did not testify.Carter did not attend the hearing.
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