Nashville police arrest second suspect in murder of ICU nurse along highway
Caitlyn Marie Kaufman was killed on Dec. 3
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Police in Nashville have arrested a second suspect in the murder of an intensive care nurse who was gunned down in December while heading to her job.
Caitlyn Marie Kaufman, 26,was struck by bullets as she drove on Interstate 440 on Dec. 3. Police arrested Devaunte Lewis Hill around a week after the killing and on Tuesday, captured James Edward Cowan, who they allege was riding as his passenger "when shots were fired from their vehicle into Kaufman’s car."
The Metro Nashville Police Department says Cowan, 28, was taken into custody at an apartment complex in Antioch and that two pistols, a half-pound of marijuana and five grams of a white powder were recovered from the vehicle he was located in there.
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Caitlyn Marie Kaufman, 26, worked as an ICU nurse at a Nashville hospital. This image shows her SUV after she was shot on Dec. 3 along I-440. (Clarion University/Metro Nashville Police Department)
MAN ARRESTED IN KILLING OF NASHVILLE ICU NURSE
Cowan is now facing a dozen charges, including criminal homicide, jail records show.
Police say Hill "implicated himself in Kaufman’s murder" and that he and Cowan know each other. An investigation of cell phone data put both men in the area of the crime scene on Dec. 3, they add.
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Hill, like Cowan, is also facing a criminal homicide charge, but the motive for the shooting remains unclear.
Kaufman's mother, Diane Kaufman, told The Tennessean in December that she felt relieved police had caught Hill, who is 21.
"If it weren’t for the generosity of the Nashville community, I fear it wouldn't have ever happened this quickly," she said. "I think I’m still in shock. I was in shock with the shooting, but now I’m in shock with the arrest. I’m just so thankful."
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James Edward Cowan was arrested by Nashville police this week. (Metro Nashville Police Department)
NASHVILLE ICU NURSE AND 'HEALTH CARE HERO' SHOT AND KILLED ON WAY TO WORK
Kaufman was driving to St. Thomas West Hospital in Nashville when she was shot.
"The vehicle came to rest on the right shoulder of the road against the guard rail between the Hillsboro Pike and West End Avenue exits," police said last month. "A Metro Parks officer stopped to check on it at 8:52 p.m., discovered that Kaufman had been shot, and called for assistance from Midtown Hills Precinct officers."
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She was reported dead at the scene.
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"We are devastated to learn of the tragic and sudden passing of our ICU nurse Caitlyn Kaufman," a hospital representative told WKRN-TV at the time.
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"She was a dedicated and much loved member of our ... team and a courageous health care hero who was graciously called to serve our patients with compassion and kindness," the spokesperson added.
Fox News’ Julia Musto and Robert Gearty contributed to this report.