In the summer of 2018, the life of 20-year-old DeDawn Bush was tragically cut short on a sidewalk in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. On the evening of June 13th, while walking in the 2100 block of College Drive, she was approached by a man who opened fire, shooting her six times before fleeing the scene on foot. The young woman, a female, died at the scene from her injuries, leaving a community in shock and a family grappling with a sudden and violent loss.
The investigation into her death
quickly focused on 38-year-old Billy Pettice, a man with whom Bush had a prior dating history. Authorities learned that Pettice had recently returned to Baton Rouge in an attempt to reconcile with Bush, only to discover she was in a new relationship. This discovery is believed to have angered Pettice, leading to the fatal confrontation. The investigation revealed a history of domestic disputes between the two, with one incident reported in February of that same year before Pettice had left town. Witnesses reported that Pettice had been professing his love for Bush and that the two had been fighting prior to the shooting.
A week after the shooting, Billy Pettice was taken into custody in Galveston, Texas, under dramatic circumstances. Authorities there responded to a call and found him after he had allegedly jumped from a causeway in a possible suicide attempt. Following his release from the hospital, he was arrested on a warrant from Baton Rouge for the theft of a firearm, a weapon he had reportedly stolen from a relative just hours before the murder. After his arrest, it was also discovered that he had taken Bush's cell phone after shooting her, in an apparent attempt to erase their previous conversations. Pettice was subsequently transferred to the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison, where he was booked on charges of first-degree murder and theft of a firearm.
