usatoday – Another suspect in the fatal shooting of a nurse is arrested
NASHVILLE, Tennessee – A second wanted man in connection with the shooting death of nurse Caitlyn Kaufman along a Nashville freeway was captured Tuesday evening by a team of local, state and federal authorities.
James Edward Cowan, 28, was arrested on arrival at an apartment complex in Hickory Hollow Place by Metro Nashville police, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and ATF officers, authorities said. His girlfriend, Dimensha Carter, 21, who was with him at the time of his arrest, was also arrested in connection with the case.
Cowan, who was wanted for criminal homicide in the Dec. 3 murder, had visited the complex from a motel on Sidco Drive, where police believe he was staying for the past few days.
Police last week named Cowan as a suspect in Kaufman’s murder. The 26-year-old was shot and killed on her way to her night shift at St. Thomas West Hospital.
His car, which was hit by at least six bullets, was discovered by a subway parks officer who believed the car had crashed. After investigating, he discovered Kaufman dead in his vehicle.
December 11:Man arrested in fatal shooting of 26-year-old ICU nurse as she drove to work
A motive for the murder remained under investigation Wednesday, police said.
Cowan’s girlfriend was charged Wednesday morning with harboring Cowan as a fugitive, a felony charge.
According to police, Carter was with Cowan when he was arrested Tuesday night. Undercover MNPD detectives, an MNPD helicopter, TBI and ATF agents monitored the couple as they drove them in a rental car to the apartment complex from the motel.
During questioning, police said, Carter admitted to staying with Cowan and providing him with transportation knowing he was wanted.
Metro Police spokesman Don Aaron said Cowan refused to be questioned by investigators.
She was jailed in Nashville in lieu of $ 77,000 bail Wednesday. Prison records show she was also facing a capia felony charge. Information on this charge was not immediately available.
The shooting chilled Nashville and gained national attention as members of his family pleaded for the killers to be apprehended.
On December 11, Devaunte Lewis Hill, 21, was arrested for criminal homicide in connection with Kaufman’s death.
According to an arrest affidavit, a concerned citizen told police he had information about the murder and identified Hill as the person who shot Kaufman. He indicates that the person also informed the police of the location of the weapon used in the shooting.
The concerned citizen who provided the information also implicated Cowan’s involvement, according to Cowan’s arrest affidavit.
The two men know each other, according to investigators. But Hill did not know Kaufman, police said. Aaron also confirmed that neither Cowan nor Carter knew the woman.
He also said that as of Wednesday, authorities were not looking for anyone else in connection with the case.
Analysis of the two men’s cell phones shows they were in the area of the shooting when it occurred and police believe Cowan was with Hill when shots were fired at his car.
A medical examiner determined that only one bullet hit Kaufman’s shoulder and that she was dead seconds after being hit.
Police reported that inside the rental car, officers discovered five grams of cocaine, half a pound of marijuana, 238 bars of Xanax, 56 Adderall pills as well as two semi-automatic guns and 126 cartridges. , during Cowan’s arrest on Tuesday.
Hill and Cowan remained in jail on Wednesday, according to Davidson County Sheriff’s Office online records. The two men are also due in court for a prosecution hearing later this week, Davidson County court records show.
Follow Brinley Hineman on Twitter: @brinleyhineman.
