A mother of three was allegedly shot and killed by her ex-boyfriend Saturday morning while she was recording a TikTok video with her friend. Joshua K. Thompson, 25, was arrested and accused of fatally shooting Kaitlyn Lee, also 25, who heard him banging on the window with a handgun while she was in the kitchen of an apartment in New Albany, Indiana, The Kansas City Star and WDRB reported, citing a probable cause affidavit.
The TikTok video, reviewed by New Albany police, showed Lee and her friend “laughing, dancing and lip-syncing to a song,” before a blast can be heard, the affidavit said. Police said smoke could be seen in the video before it ended. Lee’s friend told police that Lee asked Thompson, “What are you doing here?” before he fired through the window, according to the affidavit.
A neighbor who witnessed the shooting told WDRB that she “heard a man screaming” before police ran into the apartment. “My dad and her grandpa are really good friends, it’s such a tragedy to witness all of this,” the neighbor told the outlet. Police said in the affidavit that Thompson called his brother immediately after the shooting and was advised to call 911.
Thompson allegedly told dispatchers he “shot the mother of his child,” The Kansas City Star reported. During his interview with authorities, Thompson said he went to the apartment that morning to see if Lee had other men over and waited outside for 20 to 30 minutes before looking through the window. Lee’s friend told police that Lee and Thompson had been in a “toxic” relationship with each other, according to the warrant.
She continued by allegedly telling officers that Lee once stated, “If she was ever found dead, Joshua killed her,” The Kansas City Star reported. Court records reviewed by HuffPost revealed Thompson had been arrested in April and charged with domestic battery committed in the presence of a child. He was served an order of protection last week and is scheduled for a pretrial hearing in September.
Thompson is now also charged with murder, criminal recklessness, invasion of privacy and unlawful carrying of a handgun, according to court records . Lee’s cousin, Jannette Roberts, said Lee “didn’t deserve what happened to her” in a GoFundMe launched to offset funeral arrangements. “I will never be able to wrap my head around how or why someone could do something so inhumane,” Roberts wrote.
“Because of someone’s selfish actions her 3 beautiful babies now have to grow up without a mother.” The New Albany Police Department and Floyd County prosecutors did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment. Pamela Greenwell, Lee’s aunt, told WDRB after a court hearing on Monday that Lee had been staying with a friend at the time of the shooting, and there were several children also inside the apartment.
Greenwell said Lee “had to hop from place to place to be able to stay away from him.” An average of 24 people per minute are victims of sexual assault, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner in the U.S.
, according to CDC data cited by the National Domestic Violence Hotline . The study also found that 66.2% of women stalking victims were stalked by current or former intimate partners.
Thompson has entered a preliminary plea of not guilty in the murder case. Court records did not list an attorney representing him. Need help? In the U.
S., call 1-866-331-9474 or text “loveis” to 22522 for the National Dating Abuse Helpline . Related From Our Partner.
