Nearly two years after Megan McCray was fatally shot in Taylor Mill, a Northern Kentucky man admitted to the killing in court Thursday afternoon.
Shane Walters, 34, of Villa Hills, pleaded guilty in Kenton County Circuit Court to a single count of second-degree manslaughter. As part of his plea, prosecutors recommended Walters serve a prison term of five years.
On Feb. 10, 2021, Taylor Mill police responded to a shooting at the 800 block of Knollwood Drive, according to a criminal complaint. Officers found 33-year-old McCray, of Goshen, Ohio, laying on the floor with a gunshot wound to the chest.
The complaint states Walters and his roommate were present for the shooting, adding that both men told police Walters was showing McCray how to disassemble and reassemble a handgun.
They said the weapon was in Walters’ hands when it discharged, striking McCray with a single shot, according to the complaint. Walters and his roommate called 911 and tried to perform CPR, but McCray ultimately died as a result of her injuries.
Walters told police that he didn’t know the gun was loaded when he pulled the trigger in an effort to release and remove the firearm’s slide, the complaint states.
Though Walters told investigators he wasn’t under the influence of drugs or alcohol, police concluded he was intoxicated when the shooting happened, the complaint states.
Walters submitted to a blood draw roughly six hours after the shooting and testing discovered his blood alcohol level was .12, according to the complaint, which is above the state’s legal limit of .08.
Given that Walters was in police custody and hadn’t consumed alcohol since officers arrived at the scene, the complaint states, his blood alcohol level was actually much higher when the shooting occurred.
In the complaint, police said Walters was “extremely intoxicated” and that he “knew, or should have known, the handgun was loaded.”
Walters was arrested and charged 12 days after the shooting, court records show.
He is next scheduled to appear in court March 3 for sentencing. The case is being heard before Circuit Judge Kate Molloy.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: NKY man admits fatally shooting Goshen woman while intoxicated