In the late afternoon of May 18, 2025, a grim discovery was made on Richardson Road in McKee, Kentucky. Authorities from the Jackson County Sheriff's Department were called to the scene where they found a man inside a vehicle, unresponsive. The man, identified as 40-year-old James D. Carmack of Irvine, had sustained a fatal gunshot wound. Kentucky State Police were quickly called in to lead the homicide investigation into the death of the male victim.
The initial investigation revealed
that Carmack had been shot by an unknown individual who had fled the scene before law enforcement's arrival. For months, the case remained under active investigation by Kentucky State Police detectives, who followed leads and pieced together the events that led to Carmack's death. The community was left with questions and concerns as authorities worked to identify a suspect in the seemingly isolated act of violence.
Three months after the discovery of Carmack's body, a breakthrough was made in the case. On August 20, 2025, Kentucky State Police arrested James S. Bergman, a 24-year-old man also from Irvine. Following his arrest, Bergman was lodged in the Three Forks Detention Center. In October 2025, the evidence gathered by investigators was presented to an Estill County Grand Jury, which handed down an indictment against Bergman on charges of Murder, Tampering with Physical Evidence, and Abuse of a Corpse, bringing a measure of progress in the ongoing quest for justice for James D. Carmack.
