Informant wanted to give murder weapon to Caitlyn Kaufman’s mother
The informant who provided information that led police to arrest the two men charged in the December 2020 death of Butler County native Caitlyn Kaufman in Tennessee said he intended to give the gun used in the shooting to Kaufman's mother and collect the reward money that was being offered.
Jacques Merrell-Odom, 23, of Nashville testified Thursday, Jan. 26, in Davidson County Court in Nashville that a few days after defendant DeVaunte Hill, 23, asked him to get rid of the gun he told him he used to shoot Kaufman, he took the gun to the hospital where Kaufman worked and asked for her mother so he could give her the gun.
Hill and James Cowan, 29, both of Tennessee, are facing first degree murder charges in Kaufman's Dec. 3 death. Prosecutors are trying to prove that Hill shot and killed Kaufman on Interstate 440 in a road rage incident after she cut them off in traffic while Cowan was driving. Kaufman was driving to St. Thomas West Hospital where she worked as an intensive care nurse.
Thursday was the fourth day of the trial. Jury selection took place Monday and Tuesday, and testimony began Wednesday.
Fourteen prosecution witnesses have testified through Thursday. A television station in Nashville has a camera in the courtroom in the A.A. Birch Building in downtown Nashville and is broadcasting the trial on its social media network. Kaufman’s parents and other family members, and family members of the defendants, are attending the trial.
Merrell-Odom, who is being held in jail on charges not related to the Kaufman case, said he was talking with Hill outside of Hill's apartment on Dec. 6 when Hill said he had to get rid of a Springfield 9 mm handgun, but didn't say why. Merrell-Odom said he agreed to give his Smith and Wesson .40-caliber to Hill in exchange for the Springfield, and the trade was made.
Later that day, Merrell-Odom said he returned to Hill's apartment where he encountered Hill, Cowan and a few other people outside the building. He said Hill seemed nervous and repeatedly asked him if had gotten rid of the Springfield. He said Hill then showed him a news article on his cellphone about Kaufman's shooting and told him that he shot her.
Merrell-Odom said he wanted to give the Springfield back to Hill and get his Smith and Wesson back, but Hill refused. He said Hill told him to get rid of the gun and everything would be all right.
He said Hill told him that Kaufman nearly hit the Cadillac SUV that he was riding in with Cowan, and “he thought it was somebody else and shot up the car.”
Merrell-Odom said Cowan said, “She shouldn’t have done it.” He said Hill and Cowan are members of the 98 mafia crips gang, and that he is a member of a different gang.
Then on Dec. 10, Merrell-Odom said he went to St. Thomas West Hospital with the Springfield in his car. He said he told a nurse that he had information about Caitlyn Kaufman and he wanted to speak with Kaufman's mother. The nurse asked him to wait with security guards until police arrived.
He said he tried to reach Kaufman's mother through social media before going to the hospital, but was not successful. He said he went to the hospital to give her the gun.
He said he told police that he knew who killed Kaufman and he could get the gun used in the shooting, but didn’t immediately tell police that the gun was in his car that he drove to the hospital.
“I didn’t want it to fall back on me,” Merrell-Odom said, when asked why he didn’t tell police the gun was in his car.
At the police station, with investigators present, he said he sent Hill text messages including one saying he still had the Springfield, and police looked at the messages and Hill’s replies. That occurred more than three hours into the six hours he spent at the police station. He said he delayed telling police that he had the gun until he felt sure the police believed that he didn’t shoot Kaufman.
Merrell-Odom said he received more than $50,000 in reward money.
In addition, he said he came forward because, “I didn’t feel right knowing and not doing anything.”
He said his mother encouraged him to speak up. He said he told his mother about what had happened, and she asked him, “What would he do if that was me?”
He also said he wouldn’t want to lose a member of his family, and have no one provide any information about how they died.
The reason Merrell-Odom is incarcerated was not brought up in the trial, but he said he has been in jail for three years, and was convicted of crimes five times as a juvenile. Those crimes include burglary, theft and joy riding, he said.
Also testifying Thursday was Erin Carney, the Davidson County deputy chief medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Dec. 4. She said Kaufman was struck by one bullet that entered her left arm, went through her left lung, aorta, right lung, through a rib and stopped in her right arm.
Carney said she lost blood quickly and then lost consciousness. She said Kaufman likely died “seconds to minutes” after being shot.
