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Caitlyn Kaufman’s mother testifies in first day of murder trial





Diane Kaufman, the mother of Caitlyn Kaufman, reacts to looking at a photo of her daughter during the trial at Justice A.A. Birch Building in Nashville on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023.POOL PHOTO

Diane Kaufman, the mother of Caitlyn Kaufman, reacts to looking at a photo of her daughter during the trial at Justice A.A. Birch Building in Nashville on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023.POOL PHOTO

“I had a daughter, Caitlyn.”

Diane Kaufman testified through tears Wednesday as the state’s first witness in the trial against Devaunte Hill, 23, and James Cowan, 30.

Cowan and Hill are accused of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Lebanon nurse Caitlyn Kaufman, 26, on Interstate 440 in December 2020.

After two days of jury selection, the state called eight witnesses Wednesday, starting with Diane Kaufman, Caitlyn Kaufman’s mother.

Diane Kaufman has lived in Pennsylvania for over 30 years. She’s previously said that it was her daughter’s dream to move to Nashville to work as a nurse.

In October 2018, Caitlyn Kaufman got a job as an ICU nurse at Ascension St. Thomas West hospital.

In fall 2020, she had moved to a new apartment in Lebanon, and Diane Kaufman was planning to visit the place for the first time in December.

Diane and Caitlyn Kaufman talked every day, multiple times a day. Caitlyn Kaufman would always call her mother on her way to and from work, and Thursday, Dec. 3, was no different.

Diane Kaufman, the mother of Caitlyn Kaufman, describes her last phone call with her daughter before she died, at Justice A.A. Birch Building in Nashville on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023.POOL PHOTOGRAPHER

Diane Kaufman, the mother of Caitlyn Kaufman, describes her last phone call with her daughter before she died, at Justice A.A. Birch Building in Nashville on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023.POOL PHOTOGRAPHER

The two talked on Caitlyn Kaufman’s drive home Thursday morning from the night shift and were chatting again as she was on her way to work that evening, early as usual.

Normally, it was Caitlyn Kaufman who would hang up the phone, but that night, Diane Kaufman was buying a Christmas card for her daughter and hung up first.

Just a few minutes later, just after 6 p.m., Caitlyn Kaufman’s 2020 Mazda was shot six times.

One bullet entered the driver’s side window and went through her left arm, lungs, aorta, a rib and came to rest in her right arm, the state said Wednesday, calling it a nonsurvivable injury.

State’s argument

In opening arguments, Assistant District Attorney Jan Norman explained the evidence the jury of 12 women and two men will hear this week.

Both cars were traveling down I-440 West at over 70 miles per hour, Norman emphasized.

Caitlyn Kaufman was shot around 6 p.m., but it was not until almost 9 p.m. that she was found by a Metro Parks police officer, who testified Wednesday.

Devaunte Lewis Hill walks into the court room at Justice A.A. Birch Building in Nashville on Wednesday, Jan. 25. Hill is charged with the murder of Caitlyn Kaufman.POOL PHOTO

Devaunte Lewis Hill walks into the court room at Justice A.A. Birch Building in Nashville on Wednesday, Jan. 25. Hill is charged with the murder of Caitlyn Kaufman.POOL PHOTO

In the days following Caitlyn Kaufman’s death, reward money from citizens of Nashville was raised, eventually reaching $66,000.

A week after the shooting, Jacques Merrell-Odom, a childhood friend of Hill’s, reached out with information relating to the shooting.

Merrell-Odom said Hill had told him he had done the shooting, and Merrell-Odom said he could buy the alleged murder weapon from Hill.

However, over three hours into his police interview, after getting Hill to confirm Merrell-Odom wasn’t involved, Merrell-Odom told police he actually had traded for the gun and had it in his glove box.

Hill was arrested and told police he was in Atlanta during the shooting. However, after being confronted with cellphone location evidence, Hill said that he was driving on I-440 that night, and his passenger shot Caitlyn Kaufman.

Wednesday, the jury heard Hill’s police interview and barely audible calls made in booking that further implicated him. In the calls, Hill seems to figure out that Merrell-Odom is the one who turned him in.

James Edward Cowan stands in front of Judge Angelita Dalton before opening statements at Justice A.A. Birch Building in Nashville ON  Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023. Cowan is one of the men who are charged with the murder of Caitlyn Kaufman.POOL PHOTO

James Edward Cowan stands in front of Judge Angelita Dalton before opening statements at Justice A.A. Birch Building in Nashville ON  Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023. Cowan is one of the men who are charged with the murder of Caitlyn Kaufman.POOL PHOTO

Police learned that “Doodie,” a nickname for Cowan, was the driver of the car, Norman said. Cowan’s contact was found in Hill’s phone. Detectives found that Cowan’s phone was in the same location as Kafuman’s phone at the time of the shooting.

The car, a rental Cadillac, was found burned the next day.

Cowan was arrested in January at a La Quinta hotel.,

“It took both of them do to this,” Norman said. “They did this together.”

Defense arguments

Ron Munkeboe, defense attorney for Cowan, said that the jury would hear no proof that his client, the driver of the Cadillac where the shots were fired, was involved in killing anyone.

Assistant Deputy Public Defender Georgia Sims told the jury that her client, Hill, did shoot Caitlyn Kaufman, but the act wasn’t premeditated first-degree murder.

Metro Nashville Police Office Corey Stratton gives his testimony about the details he saw when he arrived at the scene where Caitlyn Kaufman's car was on the side of the road of I-440, at Justice A.A. Birch Building in Nashville on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023.POOL PHOTO

Metro Nashville Police Office Corey Stratton gives his testimony about the details he saw when he arrived at the scene where Caitlyn Kaufman’s car was on the side of the road of I-440, at Justice A.A. Birch Building in Nashville on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023.POOL PHOTO

In Tennessee, first-degree murder requires reflection. Sims argued that Hill did not have the ability to exercise reflection and judgment before he pulled the trigger.

She reminded the jury that Hill’s actions after the incident which demonstrated his “poor coping skills” were not what was on trial. While Hill needed to be held accountable for his actions, Sims asked jurors to choose justice and not vengeance.

“Justice for Caitlyn Kaufman is bound up with justice for Devaunte Hill and James Cowan,” Sims said.

The trial will resume at 8:30 a.m. Thursday and is expected to last at least through Friday.

Metro Nashville Police Officer Mark Rosenfeld, a crime scene investigator, shows the jury a Springfield XD9 gun inside the evidence box at Justice A.A. Birch Building in Nashville on  Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023. Devaunte Lewis Hill's friend, who turned him over to police, had the gun in the glovebox of his car.POOL PHOTO

Metro Nashville Police Officer Mark Rosenfeld, a crime scene investigator, shows the jury a Springfield XD9 gun inside the evidence box at Justice A.A. Birch Building in Nashville on  Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023. Devaunte Lewis Hill’s friend, who turned him over to police, had the gun in the glovebox of his car.POOL PHOTO

 

 

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