Trial to start Monday in Caitlyn Kaufman homicide trial in Tennessee
The trial for two men charged in the December 2020 shooting death of Butler County native Caitlyn Kaufman begins Monday in Nashville, Tenn.
James Cowan, 29, and Devaunte Hill, 23, both of Tennessee, are facing first-degree murder charges in the Dec. 3, 2020, death of Kaufman, a Chicora native who was 26 years old.
Jury selection is expected to take half of the day Monday. The trial will begin after the jury is selected, and it will take at least the rest of the week in Nashville-Davidson County Court.
In a possible road rage incident, Kaufman was shot while she was driving to St. Thomas West Hospital, where she worked as a nurse in the intensive care unit.
In a hearing in January, a witness and investigators said Kaufman may have cut off the defendants' car in traffic as they traveled along Interstate 440 in Nashville. Investigators said her car was struck by at least six bullets and her rear driver's side window was shot out. She died at the scene.
Ballistic tests on a gun recovered from a witness's vehicle confirmed that it matched shell casings found on Interstate 440, where Kaufman was shot.
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 p.m., when she began to slow. Detectives believe that coincides with the start of the shooting, according to testimony from the January hearing.
Investigators testified that data pulled from a phone believed to be Hill's showed repeated online searches using terms like “Nashville shooting today.”
Police searched for almost two hours before they discovered Kaufman's body, according to earlier testimony. A Metro Parks officer spotted the Mazda at around 9 p.m. and pulled over, believing it was a single-vehicle accident. That's when he found Kaufman dead inside the bullet-riddled SUV, according to investigators.
A GoFundMe page created to help Kaufman’s family with funeral expenses and any other costs has raised $42,000 since December 2020, when it was created.
The GoFundMe page created by the wife of one of Kaufman’s cousins, said Kaufman “worked diligently as an ICU nurse for two years and served tirelessly during the COVID crisis working directly with patients in a COVID ICU.”
Additionally, Kaufman received two DAISY Awards for Extraordinary Nurses in her first year, and she spent her days off blaring country music while boating, water skiing, wake boarding and “buggy” riding with her friends.
“She had a smile that would light up a room and a laugh that was contagious,” the GoFundMe said.
Cowan is being represented by attorney Ron Munkeboe, and Hill’s attorney is Jason Chaffin.
The case is being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Roger Moore and assistant district attorneys Jan Norman and Kristen Taylor. Members of the Metro Nashville Police Department are expected to present testimony about their investigation into Kaufman’s death.
Judge Angelita Blackshear Dalton is presiding over the trial, which is being held in courtroom 6B in the A.A. Birch Building in downtown Nashville.
