In the early morning hours of December 10, 2014, in Monroe, Georgia, 20-year-old Nikki Guined died from a single gunshot wound. The events of that night unfolded in the home she shared with her boyfriend, 21-year-old Walton County deputy jailer Dwight Buchanan. The couple, along with another couple and a visitor, had been drinking and partying.
An argument erupted between Guined and Buchanan, though they reportedly reconciled and went to their bedroom. While they were being intimate, Guined asked Buchanan for his pistol. He was initially reluctant but eventually gave her the unloaded gun. Guined repeatedly asked him, 'Don't you trust me?' and then requested that he load the weapon. Buchanan loaded the pistol with a magazine, chambered a round, and then removed the magazine before handing the gun back to her. Guined then placed the muzzle of the gun under her right jaw and pulled the trigger.
The Walton County Sheriff's Office, seeking transparency due to the involvement of one of their own, immediately called in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to handle the case. Buchanan was placed on paid administrative leave following the incident. Investigators found the home strewn with beer cans, and it was noted that alcohol was a factor in the night's tragic events.
Following the GBI's investigation, Dwight Buchanan was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct in connection with Nikki Guined's death. He was subsequently fired from his position as a deputy jailer. The sheriff noted that jailers like Buchanan are not issued service weapons and that the gun in question may have been a gift to Guined. He also speculated that Buchanan might not have realized that the type of pistol used would still fire a chambered round even with the magazine removed.
