Detectives from Daviess County Sheriff’s Office have interviewed over 40 people in relation to the Whitesville shooting that killed two people and injured one on Saturday morning. According to Major Barry Smith, chief deputy for DCSO, those 40 interviews range from family members of the victims to witnesses who attended the party.
There were only 10 to 15 people found at the scene of the shooting when DCSO arrived a little after 12:30 a.m., but Smith said some other attendees have come forward to share their perspectives since then.
“The incident happened so quickly, and the crowd dispersed quickly after it happened. We knew around 75 attendees were there,” Smith said. “Some people have called us and come forward. We’ve interviewed a little over 40 people at this time.”
Whether emotions have been running high for attendees during the interview process is unknown to Smith as detectives have been questioning the witnesses, but Smith did say he conducted some very emotional interviews with the victims’ family members on Saturday morning.
These interviews are helping DCSO make headway toward naming a suspect, or suspects, in the double homicide, Smith said.
“The interviews have narrowed down information in pointing us to some people we’d like to talk to,” Smith said. “We’re putting the pieces of the puzzle together.”
DCSO must obtain probable cause before making an arrest, but Smith said the sheriff’s office has some persons of interest in mind as they continue building their case.
So far, no motive has been determined. In fact, DCSO said no argument or incident led to the actions that occurred Saturday morning.
“The motive is one thing we’re still trying to figure out,” Smith said. “Based on witness statements, there was no argument or incident that led to this. This type of case–it isn’t easy. Even though people were there and it happened in an open area, there’s nothing we’ve seen that led up to it. There’s nothing that would’ve led to the escalation of a shooting, nothing affixed to the perpetrator or the victims.”
Even more, the setting where the shooting took place is perplexing for DCSO investigators. While most local shootings occur within city limits and often revolve around drugs, weapons, money or retaliation, to investigate a shooting that took place at a high school party in the county — and a crowded party, at that — is an uncommon setting for shootings.
“That makes you scratch your head a little bit more,” Smith said.
Because the shooting took place at a high school party, Smith said DCSO has received many complaints from parents, upset that their children were in attendance for such a horrific event.
“We’ve had some parents quite upset that their child was at a party, or any gathering, where a shooting was involved. I think that’s a normal reaction,” Smith said.
Smith couldn’t say how long it would be before DCSO announced a suspect, or suspects, for the double homicide of 18-year-old Jasper Brown and 16-year-old Amarius Winstead.
“Those pieces of the puzzle have to fall into place, but we’re getting closer every day,” Smith said. “At the very minimum, we have to obtain probable cause before making any arrests.”
