Man arrested in nurse's murder Butler grad shot on way to work in Nashville
While the Nashville Metropolitan Police received more than 50 tips in the week since the murder of Butler High School graduate and ICU nurse Caitlyn Kaufman in Tennessee, the information that lead to an 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.
Kaufman, 26, was gunned down in her Mazda SUV around 6:30 p.m. Dec. 3 on Interstate 440 in Nashville while on her way to St. Thomas West Hospital, where she worked in the intensive care unit.
A police officer who approached her vehicle about three hours later found Kaufman, who studied nursing at Clarion University, deceased in the driver's seat.
The SUV was resting against the guide rail and the rear driver's side window had been shot out.
A Nashville medical examiner said due to the severity of her wounds, Kaufman likely died just minutes after being shot.
Chief John Drake of the Nashville Metro Police said at a news conference Friday morning that homicide detectives worked around the clock and brought in many top-level experts to help with the case.
A concerned citizen came forward Thursday who identified Devaunte L. Hill, 21, of East Nashville as a suspect and provided information on the location of the weapon allegedly used in Kaufman's murder, Drake said at the news conference.
Drake said police located the 9 mm handgun Thursday night, which they took to the crime lab for testing by ballistics experts. “That gun was test fired and we have a 100% match to three 9 mm shell casings found on the (side) of I-440,” Drake said.
He said police also determined that a cell phone in Hill's possession was at the murder scene on the evening of Dec. 3. Based on that information, Christopher Dickerson, a homicide detective with Nashville Metro, issued a warrant for Hill's arrest at 3:37 a.m. Friday.
Hill was taken into custody without incident at 6:15 a.m. Friday morning by Nashville Metro's SWAT team and questioned at police headquarters.
Dickerson said Hill implicated himself in the murder and was charged.
He did confirm that Kaufman and Hill did not know each other.
Dickerson said he was in contact with Kaufman's parents, Rick and Diane, every day since the murder.“We're not finished, but I'm glad to be in the position we are in this morning,” Dickerson said.He said the Kaufmans had traveled from their Chicora home to Nashville after learning the tragic news of their daughter's death, and returned Thursday to prepare for her funeral.He called Diane Kaufman as soon as Hill was arrested.“She said she would be able to get some closure before the funeral and she expressed her gratitude to everyone ... in the department,” Dickerson said.Diane Kaufman said Friday morning that she had been notified by Dickerson that an arrest had been made in her daughter's murder.“I've very sad,” Kaufman said. “My daughter is gone and I'm relieved in a sense, but I'm sad.”Drake said although the investigation into Kaufman's murder is ongoing, he could not rule out additional arrests in the case.Regarding the substantial reward raised by the Nashville businessmen and entrepreneurs, Drake feels they did it because many are fathers and because they “love Nashville deeply.”During a brief question-and-answer period with Nashville media, Dickerson said the reward helped crack the case.“I certainly think there was motivation for someone to come forward and talk,” he said.An online fundraiser on gofundme.com had raised almost $39,000 as of Friday evening to assist the family with expenses related to their daughter's death.The fundraiser's organizer called Caitlyn Kaufman “an extremely selfless person, always willing to lend a helping hand no matter the personal cost.”It went on to say she worked directly with COVID-19 patients at St. Thomas West Hospital in a COVID-19 ICU and had received two Daisy Awards for Extraordinary Nursing in her first year at the hospital, “acknowledging both her commitment, talent, and compassion as a nurse.”Kaufman loved the outdoors, country music and the company of her Great Dane, Zeus, the site said.She also was an accomplished collegiate diver at Clarion University, according to the gofundme page.
