In the early morning hours of June 10, 2025, Richard High, a 44-year-old man, was shot and killed as he slept in his Georgetown, Tennessee, home on Gunstocker Road. The tranquil neighborhood was soon disturbed by the presence of law enforcement as deputies from the Meigs County Sheriff's Office, along with agents from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, responded to a 911 call made by the alleged shooter.
The investigation into High's death quickly focused on his own 15-year-old daughter, Evalett High. Authorities allege that the teenager, angered by her father for taking away her phone and attempting to keep her from her boyfriend, made the deliberate and calculated decision to end his life. According to court records, Evalett confessed to the crime, stating that after going to bed angry, she later woke up, loaded a gun, and contemplated her actions for about 20 minutes. After checking on her younger brother, she proceeded to the living room where her father was sleeping and shot him in the head.
Following the initial investigation, a juvenile delinquency petition was filed, charging the 15-year-old with first-degree murder. She was taken into custody, and the case began to navigate the juvenile court system. Due to the serious nature of the crime, the question of whether she would be tried as an adult became a central issue. In the ensuing court hearings, which were initially closed to the public, an attorney was appointed to represent her.
As the legal proceedings continued, the court ordered a mental health evaluation to determine her competency and sanity at the time of the shooting. The results of this evaluation are pending as of a court hearing in November 2025, with her next court date scheduled for December 11. Prosecutors are awaiting the outcome of the mental health assessment before deciding whether to seek to transfer her case to the adult court system. The relationship between the suspect and the victim was not immediately disclosed by authorities, but later court records confirmed she was his daughter. It was also revealed that her mother is incarcerated in a different state. The case has drawn media attention, leading to a legal challenge that resulted in the unsealing of some court records.
