On the evening of June 30, 2023, 35-year-old Ashley Idell Yates was leaving her job at the 18|8 Hair Salon in the Westport Village shopping center in Louisville, Kentucky, when her life was tragically cut short. She was discovered in the parking lot with a gunshot wound and was quickly transported to the University of Louisville Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries.
The investigation into her death swiftly identified her ex-boyfriend, Zachary Hines, as the primary suspect in
what authorities described as a domestic violence situation. According to Ashley's brother, her life had been threatened before, and she was caught in a cycle of returning to her abuser. The day after the fatal shooting, on July 1, 2023, Zachary Hines died by suicide, leading the Louisville Metro Police Department to close the case on her murder.
Months later, a new development emerged in the case with the arrest of 38-year-old James Booher on September 26, 2023. He was charged with facilitation of murder after investigators uncovered his alleged involvement in the events leading up to Ashley's death. Court documents revealed that just 20 minutes before the shooting, Booher had sent a photograph of Ashley's location to Hines's Facebook account. Police traced the account that sent the photo to Booher.
Further investigation of the social media account revealed messages in which Booher stated he was on a 'recon mission' to conduct surveillance on Yates because Hines 'had an issue with her.' Surveillance footage from the shopping center reportedly showed Booher leaving the scene on a skateboard shortly after the shooting. His arrest brought a new dimension to the tragic story of Ashley Yates's death, indicating a level of premeditation and assistance in the act that claimed her life.
