In the quiet town of Pulaski, Tennessee, the life of 16-year-old Samantha 'Stormy' Carter, a young woman with her future ahead of her, was tragically cut short on September 4, 2017. At 22 weeks pregnant, she was looking forward to the birth of her daughter, whom she had already named Scarlet Danielle. This hope was extinguished in a violent act that also claimed the life of her unborn child.
On that fateful evening, at the Richland Inn, Carter was fatally shot.
The immediate investigation pointed to her 18-year-old boyfriend, Colton Perryman, who was present at the scene. Perryman and his family had been residing at the motel after a fire at their home. In the aftermath of the shooting, Carter was rushed to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, but her injuries proved to be too severe, and she was pronounced dead.
The investigation led to the swift arrest of Colton Perryman. He was initially charged with second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, and tampering with evidence. As the case progressed through the legal system, Perryman eventually entered a no-contest plea to amended charges of two counts of voluntary manslaughter and one count of tampering with evidence. This plea resulted in a split-confinement sentence of two years of incarceration followed by twelve years of supervised probation. However, his time on probation was short-lived, as a violation led to the revocation of his probation and an order to serve the remainder of his sentence in confinement.
The case also entangled Perryman's mother, Karla McDonald. She was arrested and charged with tampering with evidence in connection with the investigation into Carter's death. Reports from the time of the incident indicated that she had surrendered to authorities. However, the final disposition of the charges against her is not detailed in readily available online sources.
