In the early hours of a cold January morning in Frankfort, Kentucky, the life of 35-year-old Devin Marie Ellis was tragically cut short. On January 31, 2024, law enforcement officers were dispatched to a residence on Corral Court following a report of a domestic incident. There, they discovered that Devin had been fatally shot while she was in bed.
The home where the shooting occurred belonged to the mother of her fiancé, 32-year-old Stephen Rife.
The couple had been living at the residence at the time of the incident. Following the discovery, Rife was arrested and has since been charged with murder in connection with Devin's death.
According to reports, Rife's mother informed law enforcement that her son had admitted to shooting Devin. He was subsequently taken into custody and booked at the Franklin County Regional Jail. The case is being treated as an incident of domestic violence. Devin and Stephen Rife had been engaged since August of 2022.
