Featured Image Credit: WVTF/Metro Nashville Police Department/Twitter
Topics: Crime
Aisha Nozari
The anguish a parent must go through having to face their child’s accused killers in a courtroom doesn’t even bear to think about.
On Tuesday (15 November), a Nashville father found himself in that exact situation.
Rick Kaufman was in the same room as the two men accused of killing his 26-year-old daughter Caitlyn this week as a hearing about her death played out in a Davidson County courtroom.
Watch how Kaufman responded below:
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At one point during the hearing, Kaufman tried to run past the partition separating himself from Davaunte Hill and James Cowan - the two men accused of murdering his daughter who are now facing life in prison.
Before he could get anywhere near the men, Kaufman was apprehended by bailiffs and removed from the courtroom.
He didn’t return for the rest of the hearing, but his wife, Diane Kaufman, cried throughout, according to WSMV.
Caitlyn was shot and killed on her way to work two years ago. She worked as a nurse and was travelling on Interstate 440 when the incident took place on 3 December 2020.
Several witnesses were brought to the stand this week by Assistant Director Attorney Jan Norman, including Sgt. Chris Dickerson, who was one of the case’s lead investigators.
Dickerson went into detail about what happened when law enforcement officers arrived at the scene two years ago, saying: “There was a parks officer, I believe he was on his way home. He drove by and he thought that it was a wreck. He thought a vehicle had rammed through the guardrail.”
Dickerson added: “So, at first, he went by, and he was able to flip around, and he went up on the vehicle and he realised it had several bullet holes in the vehicle and then he realised there was an individual slumped over the steering wheel, so he positioned his vehicle in front of her and I believe he called additional units.”
He also testified that the victim’s car was still running and that Caitlyn’s foot remained on the brake.
Police also explained how they tracked down Caitlyn’s alleged killer after her death.
They told the courtroom that someone who had worked as a confidential informant for Metro Police (a position the individual no longer holds) traded guns with Hill before approaching police for reward money. Hill was subsequently arrested.
Although Caitlyn and her family are originally from Pennsylvania, she moved to Nashville after becoming a nurse.
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677