Devaunte Hill: Man gets 25 years in prison for shooting dead ICU nurse Caitlyn Kaufman in Nashville
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE: A man from Nashville has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for fatally shooting an ICU nurse in Tennessee. On Wednesday, March 29, Devaunte Hill was sentenced at Davidson County Criminal Court in connection to the death of Caitlyn Kaufman.
Convicted of the second-degree murder of the 26-year-old woman, Hill previously admitted to killing the nurse while he and the victim were on the Nashville interstate highway in Tennessee. The jury acquitted co-defendant James Cowan, a friend of Hill who drove the vehicle containing the convicted murderer. Apparently, Kaufman was not known to either of the friends before. Though Hill requested the court for leniency in sentencing following his confession to the crime, he has been sentenced to a maximum of 25 years, reported People.
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'I remember picking up the gun and firing the shots'
Hill testified during the murder trial that he was drugged up while he was with Cowan inside the car. Kaufman who was driving to St Thomas West Hospital in Nashville cut the defendant's car off on the interstate, according to ABC News. As per the news outlet, Hill testified that "Cowan hit the brakes and it startled me," and added, "I remember picking up the gun and firing the shots, but I couldn't recall at that moment how many shots I'd fired." The 23-year-old killer fired six shots out of which one killed the nurse.
Who was Caitlyn Kaufman?
According to Kaufman's Facebook page, prior to her death in 2020, she had been working at the St Thomas Hospital's Intensive Care unit since 2018. In a statement at the time, the hospital's spokesperson Michelle Heard said, "She was a dedicated and much-loved member of our MICU team and a courageous health care hero who was graciously called to serve our patients with compassion and kindness," reported The Tennessean.
Hill apologized to Kaufman's family
In an early court hearing, the convicted murderer apologized to the deceased nurse's family for his actions. "I know I made an irrational and dumb decision and I really would just like to apologize to Ms Kaufman's family for my stupid behavior. I'm sorry my irrational decision resulted in the death of your daughter. She didn't deserve to die," said Hill.
