Evidence points to accidental shooting

astolfi@sanduskyregister.comSANDUSKYThe New Year's Day shooting death of Katelin Castile appears to be accidental, according to Sandusky police."All the physical evidence that we have in hand indicates it was an accidental discharge (of the gun)," Detective Gary Wichman told the Register Monday afternoon.Police were called to Castile's home in the 900 block of W. Washington St. Jan. 1 at about 2:30 a.m. Within about 90 minutes, her fiance, Jermane Kennedy, 26, had turned himself in at the Sandusky police station.In the days since, investigators have interviewed multiple witnesses, executed search warrants, examined evidence and received preliminary results from an autopsy of Castile's body.Thus far, all of the information appears to be pointing toward the same conclusion — that Kennedy accidentally released the trigger of his Smith and Wesson 9mm semi-automatic handgun that morning and caused the death of his longtime girlfriend.Wichman said the pair had been together since they were freshmen in high school. They had three kids, and two were in the apartment at the time their mother was shot.Kennedy was reportedly distraught when police spoke with him after the shooting. On Monday, he was arraigned on a charge of felonious assault and entered a plea of not guilty.Tragedy unfolds after midnightKennedy, Castile, and a group of friends went out downtown the night of Dec. 31 to celebrate New Year's.While out and about, Kennedy spoke with one of his friends, who now lives out of state, and the pair began discussing Kennedy's handgun."Jermane wanted to show his friend his new apartment and also offered to show him his handgun, because (the friend) was considering purchasing one," Wichman said.Kennedy, Castile, the out of state friend, and two women headed back to the couple's apartment after the bars closed. At that point, Kennedy's mother, who was babysitting for the evening, left the apartment and took one of the kids back to her home. An 8-year-old was left playing video games in another room and the remaining child was asleep in a crib.Shortly after his mother left, Kennedy went into the couple's bedroom and took his 9mm gun from a gun safe, located just a few feet from their bed, Wichman said. At that point, Castile, 26, was laying down on the mattress."It appears from the evidence that he was trying to clear the gun but failed to drop the clip out before (doing so). (He then) pulled the slide back and ejected the live round. (But when) the slide then went forward, it loaded a new round from the clip (into) the gun," Wichman said.Police believe Kennedy then released pressure on the trigger, which caused the gun to fire. Investigators think he may have been holding the weapon low in front of his body when it went off.Following the evidenceAn autopsy was performed on Castile's body Saturday morning at the Lucas County Coroner's Office and yielded information crucial to the investigation.It revealed the bullet struck Castile on the left side of the neck, traveled through a major artery and struck her spine before exiting out the back, Erie County Coroner Dr. Brian Baxter said.After exiting Castile, the bullet landed in a blanket near the foot of the bed, according to Wichman.This evidence, coupled with other information, all "substantiate an accidental discharge at approximately waist-level," Wichman said.While executing search warrants, police also recovered a live round near the gun safe, further lending to this theory.Officials interviewed those in the home at the time of the shooting. They also spoke to Kennedy's mother. All involved said there were no problems between Kennedy and Castile that night.Investigators additionally reviewed area surveillance footage, and no signs of problems were spotted there either."There was no domestic issue going on at the time. Everyone was in good spirits," Wichman said. "They had a great time celebrating New Year's Eve, and there was even talk of them going to Taco Bell to get a bite to eat."Fiance turns himself inEvents continued to unfold after Castile was shot."Jermaine panicked," Wichman said. "He threw the gun and the clip off the third floor balcony."One of the women dialed 911 as well, sounding frantic."What's your address? What's your address, Jermane?" the woman can be heard saying in a recording of the emergency call.She then speaks to the dispatcher directly — "My sister-in law, she's not breathing, I need an ambulance right away," the woman said.As officers headed into the building, Kennedy headed out. He even pointed police upstairs, indicating that's where they were needed."He left the area, he went walking. His mom was able to reach him on his cell phone, and he was beside himself with what just happened. He was clearly distraught and made comments that it was an accident," Wichman said.An uncle eventually located Kennedy walking on West Monroe Street, talked with him a bit, then brought him to the police station.Charges leveledKennedy arrived at the Sandusky police station at 4 a.m.At 4:10 a.m., Castile was pronounced dead at Firelands Regional Medical Center."I let him know she didn't make it. He didn't know, he was very scared, and he exercised his rights for counsel," Wichman said.Kennedy did tell police he tossed the gun from the balcony, and as a result, they were indeed later able to find it. But Kennedy was not questioned further, as he asked for an attorney.Officials charged Kennedy with felonious assault, and he was arraigned Monday morning at Sandusky Municipal Court.Erie County prosecutor Kevin Baxter said other charges may be leveled in the coming weeks and days, either at his office's discretion, or as a result of a grand jury hearing."There's a number of different charges that we can consider," Baxter explained. "The highest level (of homicide charges) is murder, where someone purposely causes a death. Then there's reckless homicide, where (one) acts recklessly, but maybe not knowingly or purposely. Then you have negligence, which is a substantial lapse of due care. There's also manslaughter."Baxter said the case has continued to evolve as investigators discover new information."Right away, people asked why not charge (him) with murder. It seems as we get these facts, it may change our view on things," Baxter said.The coroner is also waiting to make a final ruling on Castile's death until more details are confirmed."In a medical setting...we can't decide what the intent of a person was. The cause (of death) was a gunshot wound to the neck. And how it occurred — she was shot by another person, as far as we know," Dr. Brian Baxter said.He expects to make an official determination in the next handful of days.In the meantime, Kennedy remains at the Erie County jail without bond. According to municipal court personnel, he retained Matt Kishman as his attorney, but his next court date has not been set.734 W. Washington in Sandusky.