BY SPEAKIN’ OUT NEWS
JEFFERSON COUNTY — A Jefferson County grand jury has indicted 28-year-old National Guardsman Steven Tyler Whitehead in the shooting death of 18-year-old cheerleader Kimber Mills and the wounding of three others during a late-night bonfire gathering known as “The Pit.”
Whitehead faces one count of murder and three counts of attempted murder. Two of the injured — Hunter McCulloch and Silas McCay, both 20 — were later charged with third-degree assault for allegedly attacking Whitehead before shots were fired.
Deputy District Attorney Meaghan Willis confirmed that grand jurors reviewed the evidence and returned indictments in all four cases. The documents have not yet been made public. Whitehead remains held in the Jefferson County Jail on bonds totaling $330,000.
Mills was killed shortly after midnight on Oct. 18, when gunfire erupted at The Pit, a wooded clearing where dozens of young adults routinely gather. Investigators said between 40 and 50 people were present that night.
Three other victims — McCay, Levi Sanders, 18, and Raelen Norris, 20 — were taken to a hospital by private vehicle. A juvenile suffered a minor grazing injury.
Court testimony revealed video showing the moments leading up to the shooting. Whitehead was seen placing his hand on a girl’s hip; she pushed him away; and several individuals, including McCay and McCulloch, began striking him. Investigators said Whitehead was knocked to the ground and hit multiple times before the group was separated.
The video then shows Whitehead pulling a gun and firing 13 rounds, striking Mills in the head and leg.
Whitehead’s defense attorneys, Caty Swindall and Lauren Presley, argued previously that he was overwhelmed by attackers and feared for his life.
Prosecutors Joe Hicks and Lauren Breland are handling the case for the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office.
The indictments mark the latest step in a case that has gripped the community and raised questions about violence at unsupervised gatherings.