Left: Joshua Thompson (Floyd County Jail). Right: Kaitlynn Lee (obituary)
Three children will grow up without their mother after her ex, the father over her 1-year-old son, showed up at an apartment in New Albany, Indiana, starting banging on a window with a gun, and then shot the victim in the head while she was recording a TikTok video with a friend, authorities in Indiana say.
Kaitylnn Lee, 25, had told the friend who witnessed the shooting that if she turned up dead one day, then Joshua Thompson, 25, would be the one who “killed her,” WDRB reported.
Local police say that protective order was in place against Thompson stemming from an April domestic violence crime against Lee and that the defendant ignored the order to track Lee down and kill her in a kitchen the early morning hours of Saturday at a residence and that children were in the apartment.
Lee, who was reportedly staying with the friend, was “laughing, dancing and lip-syncing to a song” in a TikTok video as Thompson allegedly stood outside the window. She said “What are you doing here?” before he opened fire, a probable cause affidavit reportedly detailed, also describing the video evidence.
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After the shooting, Thompson allegedly called 911 on himself at his brother’s urging to admit that he “shot the mother of his child” after going to the apartment to see if she was with another man, WLKY reported.
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A GoFundMe campaign started by Lee’s cousin Jannette said that “3 beautiful babies now have to grow up without a mother” due to “someone’s selfish actions.”
“I am making this account because of this horrible incident to raise money to give her a proper funeral/burial,” said a post on the GoFundMe. “Any extra money will go to helping with the expenses of her children during this time. SHE DESERVES THIS, at the very least. She didn’t deserve what happened to her. Those babies do NOT deserve to have to go through this.”
“I will never be able to wrap my head around how or why someone could do something so inhumane,” the post added.
An obituary said that Lee is survived by her children, her mother, a brother, and numerous extended family members.
Court records reviewed by Law&Crime show that Thompson is charged with murder, criminal recklessness by shooting into a building, unlawfully carrying a gun, and invasion of privacy by violating a protective order meant to prevent domestic or family violence or harassment.
A judge found probable cause on Monday and issued a no bond order, records say. Thompson is expected to appear in court next on Sept. 9. It’s unclear if he has an attorney.
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