Scarlett Tucker, 16, was fatally shot at a house in Burlington, Kentucky, early Tuesday morning, January 3.
The Burlington Police Department said three other teenagers witnessed the incident — an 18-year-old male, an 18-year-old female, and a 17-year-old female. Their testimonies led the police to identify the suspect as 18-year-old Demarkus Hedges from Cincinnati.
The deputies received a call reporting that someone was shot. At around 2:18 a.m., they went to the reported location, a house about 20 miles southwest of Cincinnati, in the Silver Brook and Kingsgate Drive area.
Tucker was found with a gunshot wound to the head when they arrived. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigation into Tucker’s murder
Boone County Sheriff’s Major Phillip Ridgell said their investigation pointed at the fact that Tucker, Hedges, and the other three teenagers were friends. The witnesses said they often spent time together in Cincinnati and Covington areas from Monday night to Tuesday morning.
According to the witnesses, they all went home at around 1:30 a.m. and saw Hedges drop a bag of marijuana onto the bedroom floor. Hedges ordered Tucker to pick it up, but she refused. He then pulled out a handgun and shot Tucker in the head. He reportedly fled the scene after shooting the victim.
The house where the murder happened belongs to the family of one of the witnesses. Other than the identified witnesses, there were also other people present in the house at the time of the incident. However, they were sleeping in different rooms and did not see the shooting take place.
“Due to the actions that we’re still trying to piece together, the exact why, we certainly know what led up to it,” Ridgell said.
The authorities said Hedges turned himself in on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. to the US Marshals Service in Covington, Kentucky. He was charged with murder, evidence tampering and unlawful transaction with a minor.
Hedges is currently held at the Boone County Detention Center with a $1 million bond.